My Territory, My Rules
by bluebunny16
Summary: Bella is the biggest mob boss around Washington and is known for having no mercy. She's used to being number one, until a new mob joins town. Rated M or future lemons and violence
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

The other people in the room winced at my loud tone, although it wasn't anything that they hadn't experienced before. The person tied to the chair flinched but looked relieved at the news I had just received. It's the only thing saving his sorry ass right now.

"Don't you get too excited, James. Something may have come up but I _will_ be back for more information," I murmured threateningly.

His hopeful look vanished as quickly as it came. I looked at Alice, my right-hand gal, and back at him longingly. She shook her head and motioned toward to the door.

"But I've been waiting for this for so long-"

"No, Bella. He'll still be here when we're done."

I sighed sadly and dropped the shears on the floor, some of the blood splattering.

"Jasper, Jane, I want the two of you to keep an eye on this mongrel. He's gotten away from me before and that will not be happening again, or you'll be on the receiving end of what I plan to do," I stated before heading up the stairs.

Alice took the lead and opened the front door for me, handing me my sunglasses. After getting in her car I lit a cigarette and turned up the radio while blowing out the smoke. She gave me a pointed look but I just grinned in return.

"Catch me up on what the dumb shit did this time," I said once I had finished my cigarette.

"He somehow found out about one of our shipments that was supposed to come in today and intercepted it. Rosalie is already on the scene waiting to hear what you want to do next. It's the third time this month he's interfered with our work."

I wasn't nearly as upset at the fact that he had stolen some of my goods, I was mad that he interrupted my session with James. It had taken my crew six months to track him down after losing him the first time when I needed some important information. He was good at escaping but we were expecting it this time.

After ten more minutes we got to the loading dock and Rosalie walked up to the car and knocked on the window.

"So, whose fault is it that this asshole got our shit?" I questioned the blonde.

She sighed and nodded her head towards the new guy. He was tall and muscular but he looked to be in his early twenties, if he was even there yet.

"Hey, you. Get your ass over here and tell me your name."

The guy at least had the decency to look ashamed of himself but did as I commanded. With as busy as things had gotten around here, I left Rosalie to hire the muscle when it was needed.

"Seth," was his simple reply.

"And how old are you, Seth?"

"Nineteen, ma'am."

"How long have you been working for me?"

"This is my first week, ma'am. Listen, I'm sorry about-."

Grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back got him to hush quickly. It was rare I was ever in the mood to listen to excuses.

"No, you listen to me. I paid a pretty price for that shipment of ammo, stuff that you can't get around here much anymore. What I want to know is who is going to reimburse me for my lost money since you allowed it to be taken from right under your nose?"

He swallowed thickly and paled.

"I-I don't know, ma'am."

Alice sucked in a breath and Rosalie shifted around uncomfortably. They knew that he screwed up.

"Rule number one…'I don't know' is not an acceptable answer, Seth. I asked question and now I expect a proper response," I explained slowly and twisted his arm further, causing him to suck in his breath.

"I'm sorry! It should be whoever you see fit, ma'am."

Slowly, I released his arm and he started rubbing the sore spot. I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped but once it started I was laughing loudly. Tears were streaming down my face and I had to hold my sides from the pain of so much laughter.

"Rosalie, you did well. I like this kid even though he cost me a shit ton of money. Since you're so new I'll let you off the hook but shit like this better not happen again. You will stay under Rosalie's care. But if you ever do something as dumb as this again, you will pay with more than just a sore arm. Got it?"

He nodded and looked at Rosalie with relief. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair behind her shoulder and stepped closer to me.

"Is there anything you want to see here, Boss? There's really not much for evidence."

"Then no. I trust that you and Irina did your jobs right. Now, there are more concerning matters. Please tell me that you dumped that piece of shit Royce."

Rosalie laughed and put her arm around my shoulders, guiding Alice and I back towards the car.

"No, I haven't dumped him and I don't plan on it anytime soon. I really think he's the one, Bella. He's so good to me and…"

I felt bad but I had to drone out the rest of it. Rosalie had met Royce only a month ago and they'd been together for three weeks. I immediately felt uneasy when I met him, which is something that's hard to do. I even warned her of how I felt but she got mad at me and didn't start talking to me again until two weeks ago unless it was absolutely necessary. Alice agreed with me but didn't want to risk telling Rose, lest she pissed her off as well.

"Is there any new information on who it might be?" Alice asked.

Rosalie's eyes got wide and she nodded.

"I'll meet you guys at the office. There's some stuff I need to get together and double check, but I have a pretty good guess."

We nodded in agreement and got back in the car. Alice started it while I looked out the window, deep in thought. Whoever this person was, they had done a pretty good job of pissing me off. First, it had been something simple. Stealing a very small shipment of drugs that I had actually forgotten about. But it escalated quickly to larger shipments and they even moved on to my ammo and weapons. The past year had been hell but even I had to admit I enjoyed the occasional game of cat and mouse.

"Bella? Bella!" Alice screamed.

I jumped and glared at her.

"What the fuck are you yelling about now?"

She laughed as we pulled up the building we had left just an hour ago.

"I know Rose is waiting for us at the office but…I figured you'd like to say hello to James again before we left."

My eyes lit up as I got out of the car and raced to the basement door.

"You know me so well, Mary Alice."

She glared and pushed me gently, following back down the stairs.

"I see you guys made sure he didn't escape. Maybe I'll even take you go out for ice cream later," I said in a sugar-sweet voice.

Jasper chuckled and snuck a peek at Alice. I knew the two had a crush on each other but they never pursued anything. I made a mental note to get them to work together more often.

"Now, James, do you remember the last thing I asked you? I'd be more than happy to remind you."

I picked the shears back up from the floor and walked towards him with a menacing grin on my face. I was in my element, and wouldn't be disrupted for a second time.

He eyed the shears and looked back at me, the last bit of hope leaving his eyes. That's when things could go either way. Either they'd be fiercely loyal and choose death or they'd start blabbing every detail I wanted to know. I had a feeling that James would be the latter.

"Really, I'm just a small man in the scheme of things. They've been paying for my school as long as I do the little things they want."

I nodded towards Jasper who brought another chair for me. I sat on it backwards with my arms crossed on the top of it, allowing the shears to stay in his line of sight.

"Everything they wanted me to do involved you or one of your members. Six months ago they wanted me to steal that shipment of coke but that's when you guys caught me," he nodded towards Jasper and Jane.

I rolled my eyes and stood back up, knocking the chair over.

"I'm really not interested in a monologue here, James. Give me the important details and maybe I won't rip out your tongue."

I saw the hope return to his eyes and he continued to talk faster. He had been hired by a blondish woman by the name of Tanya, which rang a bell. She was the only one he was ever in contact with but he had overheard a little bit about the main boss. It was pretty clear that he wasn't lying about being a small part in their game.

Once he finished, I handed the shears to Jane and looked at Jasper.

"You know what to do."

He nodded and stalked slowly towards James while I grabbed Alice's arm and walked back up the stairs, hearing James' screams as we walked out the front.

"Why does the name Tanya sound so familiar?" I asked.

Alice shook her head and got in the car.

"I'm not sure but it is really familiar. Let's go see Rose, maybe she'll know."

We drove the few minutes to my house and walked into my office I had on the second floor. We did most of our important business here, but research and such took place at my restaurant in one of the back rooms.

"Alright, pretty lady. Tell me what you know," I said while sitting down in my chair and propping my feet on the desk.

She dropped a file by my feet and sat back in her favorite chair with a glass full of scotch. I eyed it questioningly but looked back towards the file.

"I confirmed what I believed to be true. The dude's name is Edward Masen and he's the head of one of the other infamous mobs around here. However, it's also our newest and biggest competitor," she explained while swirling the glass.

I lit another cigarette while Alice looked through the file. It was quiet until Alice found what she wanted.

"Here," she said while handing me a picture.

It was a picture of a woman with blondish red hair and blue eyes. She was very beautiful and I recognized the name scrawled beneath it.

"Tanya Denali. She's the one who hired James," Alice told Rose.

Rose hummed and downed the rest of her drink.

"That's enough excitement for one day, ladies. I've got a hot date with my man that I need to get to. My cell will be on, of course."

I rolled my eyes and shooed her away. Even though we had our personal lives, everyone knew that business came first. Alice giggled at Rosalie's retreating figure and took her seat.

"I fucking hate that Royce guy. He's a piece of shit but I can't prove it yet. I do have someone keeping an eye out though," Alice admitted.

I put the picture of Tanya down and pinched the bridge of my nose. Anytime spent talking about Royce King was a waste.

"I'm worried about her, Alice. It isn't like her to get hooked on a guy like this. You know how independent she is. But if he just snaps his fingers she's here like a trained puppy. I don't like it."

Alice looked at my sadly and nodded in agreement.

"I know, but she's a big girl that can make her own decisions. You know what happened the last time you tried to ban her from seeing someone," she chuckled.

It's true, I tried to ban Rosalie from dating her last boyfriend but he was also a piece of shit that was stealing from her in order to pay his gambling debt. I had to take care of my crew if I wanted my crew to take care of me.

"Go home, Alice. Jacob should be here by now, so see him before you leave."

She nodded and left my office. I got up and poured a glass of my favorite wine, thinking about the pain in my ass by the name of Edward Masen.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Hi guys! I hope you're liking the story so far, I know I've been having so much fun writing it. It's been a while since I've written anything, so please stick with me while I get back into it. My updates will be once a week on Thursdays, except for this one since I wanted to give you more of a preview. Thanks!**

Jasper was sitting on one of the overstuffed chairs in my office with his head in his hands while I paced and Alice stared at the wall blankly.

"Jasper, I really hope that this is just a prank and you're not being serious," she said sadly.

I looked at the both of them with pity. Unfortunately, things like this happen in our line of work more often than anyone would like.

"They're…gone. Just like that, they're gone."

My favorite pixie went over to the sobbing man and hugged him. My jaw clenched and I crossed my arms thinking about what our next move should be. Jasper had called me earlier in the evening, crying. Once I was able to get him to calm down enough to tell me what had happened, he told me his and Rose's parents had been gone missing.

Rosalie had gotten home that night after her date with Royce to find a note left behind with details about how her parents had been murdered. She immediately called Jasper who followed the instructions written and discovered it all to be true. An emergency meeting was called and now it was the three of us deliberating.

I handed him a glass of whiskey which he swallowed in one big gulp. Alice just snuggled him closer while I put the glass back down on the bar and pulled out my phone.

"Jacob, I want you to get Paul. Yeah, Jasper is staying here tonight and I want someone watching over him. Let me know if you guys find Rose."

I hung up before he could reply and took my seat, sighing. There was nothing more to be said so we all sat in silence for what seemed like hours until Jacob finally knocked on the door. He walked in right in front of Rosalie who took the seat next to her brother. She grabbed his hand and they cried together, Alice and I leaving to give them some privacy.

"I don't get it. Why would they go after the Hales instead of me? Rosalie and Jasper sure as hell didn't deserve something like this," I murmured into the dark room.

Alice shrugged and struggled to not grab her gun. She was known to get trigger happy anytime she was upset.

"When Rosalie comes out of that room, go to him. I'll take care of Rose. I think you're exactly what he needs right now."

She nodded and walked towards the office, waiting for our best friend to walk out.

 **One Month Later**

"Rose!" I gasped out between bits of laughter, "You have got to stop before you kill me!"

The leggy blonde laughed and continued what she was doing. Poor Jasper had accidentally walked in on Rose and Royce doing certain things on his kitchen counter and kicked Royce out while he was buck naked. Rose had chased her brother around, waving her gun and yelling at him for embarrassing her while Royce just stood on the porch like a lost puppy. I couldn't stop the feeling of satisfaction knowing that there was some justice in the world.

There still hadn't been many new leads on the murder of Jasper and Rosalie's parents but they both were committed to finding who had done it and killing them in cold blood. I sure couldn't blame them and hoped I could help.

"Bella! You need to come quickly," Alice panted after running into the room.

I immediately sobered up and looked at Rose who nodded and we followed Alice out to one of the SUVs.

"We received this note. Jane looked into it and we're pretty sure it's from Masen."

She handed me a piece of paper which I read through quickly and handed to Rose. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she looked out the window.

"Why would they send us this? To prove that they're smarter than us?"

I slammed my hand on the dashboard and the girls jumped.

"Dammit! They're not smarter than us! They may have had the upper hand for a while but it's our time to shine."

Alice looked at me like I was crazy and Rosalie huffed, scrunching the note up into a ball and throwing it out of the window.

"So the question is, should we continue with the shipment or cancel it since they already proved that they know all of the details? How the fuck do they do this stuff, anyway?" I muttered more to myself.

There was silence on the rest of the way to the restaurant. Alice turned the car off but none of us made a move to get out.

"I think there's a mole," Rose finally stated.

I nodded, afraid that was the truth. There was no way that anyone could have gotten this kind of information from an outside source. I was very picky about who was allowed in the crew, but I left those kinds of tasks to Rosalie now.

"I say we don't trust anyone besides the three of us and Jasper. From now on, everything is on a need-to-know basis and we need to crack down on these assholes. I can't keep being made to look the fool."

The two girls agreed with me and we got out of the car, headed towards the building. It was lunch time so the place was packed.

"Bella, I should probably warn you…your dad's here," Alice told me.

I stopped walking and turned towards her slowly. I knew I had to have looked like I saw a ghost. Things were very bad if my father felt like he had to get involved. Resolved, I took the lead into the restaurant and went straight to the back room, ignoring everyone's words of greeting.

"Bella," he stated simply with his arms crossed.

I glared back and him and mimicked his expression.

"I don't see why you think you need to be involved, father. I'm handling everything just fine on my own."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"It sure as hell doesn't look like it. I've had my eyes on Masen ever since he came to town and so far he's made you look like an incompetent fool, which wouldn't be inaccurate. He's been besting you for over a year now, Isabella. I'm not going to sit behind and watch you ruin what I worked so hard to create."

"That is a load of bullshit and you know it. Sometimes these things take time to work out and when they do, everyone will know not to mess with me. This sure isn't the first time someone has attacked us," I retorted.

"You're not wrong but it never took this long to take care of a threat. At least not while I was in charge. I heard that the new kid let Masen's men slip right out of his hands about a month ago. And how did you punish him, Isabella? Spanking him then sending him to his room with a plate of cookies and warm milk?"

He was just trying to rile me up, I knew it. But I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"It's not your business how I punish my crew or even how I run things anymore. You retired, remember? And you left me in charge so you need to accept my decisions and butt out. Go back to fishing and leave us all alone."

His eyes turned dark and he stepped closer so we were almost toe to toe.

"I knew that you weren't ready for this. I should have never left you in charge but I never got the son I wanted to continue on my legacy so I had to settle for your pathetic ass. You can't discipline anyone let alone get anything done around here! You're a disgrace to this family, Isabella. As of now I am out of retirement. Get out of my face."

I slapped him across the face which was loud enough to cause Rosalie to flinch. When he started to fall backwards I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back close.

"I know we've never been the closest of families, father dear. But you signed the contract making me the new boss. You gave up your right to having a say the second the ink dried. I'd be more than happy to get a hold of my lawyer and have him bring over a copy, if you desire. As of now you're not welcome around me or around my men and women. Get out of here before I make you."

He stood up straight and glared down at me.

"You're making a huge mistake here, Isabella. You'll regret this if you let me walk away."

I walked him go and let out of a sigh of relief. Ever since my father had retired and left me in charge he still would check up on me and tell me how much of a disappointment I am. The only good thing that came from my father was him giving me life.

Rosalie gave me a high five and laughed.

"Damn, Bella! I didn't know you had it in you."

I grinned and shook my head.

"C'mon. I'm sure the others are waiting for us."

We went to where all of the computers were set up and Rose took a seat while I remained standing.

"As I'm sure you guys know, we received a note today giving accurate details about that shipment we were supposed to send out tonight. I've decided for us to continue with the shipment and call their bluff. Stay on your guard tonight, just in case anything happens. Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Seth stay behind. The rest of you get your asses out of here."

Everyone scurried out and I turned back to look at my most loyal members. Seth hadn't been working for us long but he had certainly proved himself after the initial mishap. Once I was sure everyone had gone, I locked the door and turned on the jammer just in case there were bugs around that someone had missed.

"Okay, the five of us are going to stay hidden while everything is sent out. Hopefully they'll still come and try to attack us but we'll be ready. The men we're sending the coke to won't be too happy if their shipment doesn't arrive on time. However, they know about our current situation and have our backs if we need them. Rose, I want you closest to the docks keeping your eyes on the newest guys. I want to know when any one of them wipes their own ass without my permission.

Alice, you're going to stay behind and keep an eye on the cameras. We already have the surveillance van set up and ready for you. Let us know the second you see something suspicious. Jasper, you're going to keep watch of the perimeter with me. I'll get in the fight if necessary but I want to stay hidden as long as possible so they don't know I'm there. I'm not sure what they'd try to pull if they saw me before I'm ready.

Seth, you're going to act natural. Stick with the guys and make small talk, figure out anything and everything about these men. I know Rosalie is a pretty good judge of character, but even I've misplaced my trust before. The biggest thing is to remember to trust no one. For whatever reason I still like you dumbasses. Everyone clear on what I want you to do?"

They all nodded after my explanation and I looked at my phone.

"We have approximately seven hours before they come. That's more than enough time for us to set everything up. Oh, and be on the lookout for my father. I have a feeling that he's going to make an appearance when we least expect it."

I went back to my house with Rosalie while Alice and Jasper took off in the surveillance van to double check the docks. Lighting a cigarette, I gave my best friend a pointed look.

"Bella, you can give me that look all you want. Nothing is going to change."

I shrugged and blew out the smoke slowly.

"I still don't trust him, Rosalie. But I'll respect your wishes and kick his fucking ass when the time comes."

She glared at me and sat down in the overstuffed chair.

"Have you found anything new about your parents?" I asked.

She shook her head sadly.

"The only new thing of interest is that we're pretty sure it wasn't Masen's crew. I'm glad it wasn't but it still sets us back of trying to find who."

I gave her a hug and put my cigarette out.

"I don't know about you but I'm going to take a nap before tonight. I have a feeling it's going to be a long one," I said.

She nodded and made her way to the guest room across the hall. I went in my bedroom and closed the door, my hand slowly traveling to the gun that was always at my hip.

"How'd you get in my room?" I asked as I slowly turned around.

My security system was one of the best, I made sure of it. How the hell Edward Masen was sitting on my bed in broad daylight was astounding. My guards were always supposed to keep an eye out.

"And who do I have to kill for letting you in?" I added.

He grinned and stood up, walking towards me. It reminded me of a lioness stalking her prey.

"Oh, Isabella. Don't you realize that I can do what I want when I want? And what I want right now is this pathetic crew you call a 'mob'," he replied sardonically.

I laughed and shoved him away, pointing my gun.

"Why would you want something that you think is 'oh so' pathetic? You may think you have the upper hand, Masen, but it won't stay that way much longer."

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

I didn't answer and nodded towards the door.

"You'll be leaving now. I have more important things to worry about than your dumbass."

He stepped closer yet again and lowered my gun. He bent down and whispered in my ear, "We both know what's going to happen, Isabella. As predictable as you are, I quite enjoy the game of cat and mouse."

He walked out the bedroom door and I screamed in frustration. The prick was going down.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **So, I may have gotten a little excited and wrote this faster than anticipated…so here's a chapter a couple of days early.**

I was in my place and nodded towards Jasper. He took off in the opposite direction while I watched and waited for something to happen. It was quiet for several minutes before I noticed that the fun was about to begin.

"You guys are probably used to this by now," a snarky female voice said.

I bit my tongue and held my place, I didn't want to make my presence known before it was necessary. I heard Jasper's voice in my earpiece,

"I've got a good shot on her, boss."

As much of a pain in the ass this mob had been, I really didn't want to kill anyone. At the same time, I didn't want them to make the first move and kill one of my men. That was the interesting part, the fact that they hadn't made a move to kill anyone.

"You have my permission, Jasper. Just make sure that you don't actually kill her."

I could hear his sigh of disappointment and had to stop myself from laughing. You could hear the fire ring out and the voice started cussing extremely loudly.

"Rose, are you seeing anything suspicious?" I asked.

"Negative, boss. The new guys are just confused about where the shot came from."

Suddenly, there was a lot of gunfire and everyone ducked for cover. I tightened my Kevlar vest and crawled to one of the nearest crates. Risking a peek, I could see captain smartass himself holding a 1911 with a smirk on his face. Ignoring the warnings of the others, I stood up with my pistol aimed at him.

"Ah, there she is. It's good to see you again, Bella," he said.

I glared at him and ignored the questioning looks of my crew. I didn't want to worry them with the meeting that had occurred earlier.

"I wish I could say the same."

He chuckled and lowered his gun, looking at me with fascination.

"I was hoping I would get to see you tonight."

"Well, I'm here. Now will you please explain why you're shooting at my men?"

"It got you out in the open, didn't it?" he murmured.

"Quit playing your fucking games, Masen and get on with it. I don't have time for your little…shenanigans."

He threw his head back and laughed.

"My little shenanigans, as you so pleasantly put it, will lead to your demise. So watch that tongue, yeah? Wouldn't want to say anything to-."

My fist connected with his stomach and he double over, dropping his gun. I kicked it towards Jasper and put him in a headlock and felt satisfaction over hearing him trying to catch a breath.

"I told you to stop with the shenanigans, Masen. You've become a real pain in my ass and I really don't appreciate it."

I hit the back of his head with my gun and he went down. His men came out with their guns raised, even Tanya appearing holding her injured arm. I winked at Jasper who kept his gun pointed at the blonde. She seemed to be an important pawn in Edward's game.

"You're going to pay for that," one of the bigger guys said.

He puffed his chest to make himself look bigger and I heard someone giggling from the sidelines. I glared at Rose, demanding that she be quiet.

" _Giggling_? Is she seriously giggling at me right now?" the guy asked.

Rosalie stopped and straightened herself, pointing her own gun at the large man.

"For a mob you guys are seriously a joke," Tanya muttered.

"Oh, yeah? Would you call this a joke?" I asked and shot her in the leg.

She screamed and fell rather close to Edward who was starting to stir and make strange sounds. The big man glanced at his boss and stepped closer to him, protectively.

"Fuck off, Emmett," Edward groaned.

The man, Emmett, backed away and continued to glare at Rosalie. It took a while, but Edward finally stood although he was a little unstable on his feet.

"I underestimated you, Bella. But you sure do make things interesting for me. Let's go, men," he commanded and walked back to the car.

"Bella!" Rosalie screamed, "are you really just going to let them go like that?!"

Edward turned around to watch me after Rosalie yelled. I stared at him for a few seconds while trying to make up my mind.

"No, just let him go, Rose. The games have just begun."

* * *

"I can't believe you let them go like that! We had them, Bella. We could have finally ended it," Rosalie shouted while pacing back and forth in front of my desk.

I blew out some smoke and put out my cigarette.

"Enough, Rosalie. I made the decision and you will shut the fuck up about it and accept it. Leave my office before you piss me off too much," I commanded.

She huffed but left, slamming the door closed behind her. I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a breath slowly, making sure to count to ten. When that didn't help I got my jacket and walked to the guard station by the front gate of the house.

"Jake, I'm going for a walk. You have my GPS location if I need you but I don't want anyone coming with me."

He nodded and turned back towards the computer screen. At least some of my men knew when to listen to orders. I walked to town which wasn't too far away and let myself relax, enjoying the sights and sounds for once. At least, I enjoyed it until something down the alley next to the grocery store caught my eye. Making sure no one was following me, I walked in and searched for whatever had made the movement.

An arm wrapped around my waist, the other hand pointing a gun to my head. I chuckled and the person leaned in so I could feel their warm breath on my cheek.

"You should have known to not go anywhere alone," the voice murmured.

It wasn't a voice that I recognized but I knew they had to be a rookie. Even with the gun pointed to my head I had a couple of ways of escaping him. So, I chose the most painful way. I twisted and elbowed him in the gut, hearing him lose his breath. When he doubled over I twisted his arm behind his back and pointed his own gun to his head.

"You know, I don't appreciate when strange men approach me in a dark alley before buying me a drink. It's a bit rude."

He just grunted in response so I twisted his arm harder until he made a strange squawking sound.

"So, who sent you? My guess is some asshole by the name of Masen."

He didn't answer immediately so I pressed the gun harder to his head and cocked it. Once he heard the click he started speaking rather quickly.

"I swear, I don't know anything. I was just hired to taunt you and try to scare you, even kidnap you if possible. All I know is that you pissed off Masen's crew and he has it out for you."

I removed the gun but kept his arm in the same position.

"And what's your name?"

He gulped and hesitated before finally answering.

"Riley. Riley Biers."

"Well, Riley Biers, you have made me one unhappy woman. But since you're young and impressionable I'll make you a deal."

After I released his arm he stood up and rubbed it, looking at me with curiosity. He wasn't too much taller than me with cropped red hair. He could only be nineteen or so.

"You will work for me effective immediately. I want you to stay and pretend that you're working for Masen's crew, but you're going to be my double agent. Make them trust you and get me all of their secrets."

He glared and backed up a couple of steps.

"What if I don't want to work for you?" he seethed. I laughed at his pathetic expression and raised the gun again.

"Then I kill you."

He stopped moving once he processed what I said and agreed after a few seconds.

"But what if I can't earn their trust?"

"Well, that's not really my problem. Either you do exactly as I ask or you'll be killed, kid. Piss me off enough and I'll give Jasper the honor. He really hates when I don't let him have the final kill."

I saw the fear in his eyes and couldn't stop the smile that came on my face. Pulling out a business card, I handed it to him.

"You can talk to either Jake or me. If it's any other person with any other name, you hang up the phone and try again later. If you tell anyone about this, Jasper will come after you. It doesn't matter how far you run and how fast you go. We will find you, Riley Biers. Although, I don't think your pathetic life would be worth the effort. Welcome to the mob life."

He turned and ran once I finished talking. Admiring the gun, I put it in my waistband and made my way back to the house. Jake gave me a pointed look as I walked up to the gate.

"I got you a new friend!' I shouted and he grimaced.

"Why do these things happen every time you go out?"

I stuck my tongue out and started walking towards the house while Jacob left the station and fell into step beside me.

"His name is Riley Biers. He looks very young and I think Masen intended for him to be bait and have me kill him after he attacked me. If you could even call that an attack. Anyway, I have him playing a double agent. We will give him no information about our crew but I want him to earn Masen's trust and learn all of their dirty little secrets. I want you to run a background check and find out what you can about the kid. He will only be in contact with you or me, no one else."

Jacob nodded at everything I said and opened the front door for me.

"Not even Alice, Jasper, or Rosalie?" he asked.

I turned quickly and glared at him while crossing my arms.

"Did I fucking stutter?"

He looked down, "No. I apologize, boss."

"Apology accepted. Now go back to the station and wait for your relief to show up."

He ran back down the couple steps and to the station. I slammed the door and sighed, deciding to go upstairs and take a bath. I ran the water and poured in the bubbles, having only started to relax when my phone rang. I glared at the offensive thing and answered once I realized who it was.

"What is it, Rose? It better be important because-."

I closed my mouth and stood up, grabbing a towel.

"I'll be there in a few. Just hold on tight."

She hung up the phone and I called Alice while getting dressed in record time.

"Jasper's with you? Great, that'll save me a phone call. Listen, I just got a call from Rosalie. She had a date with Royce tonight and things went…sour. I'm on my way to kick his fucking ass and rescue my best friend. Meet you guys in ten."

I hung up before waiting for a response. Jacob saw the look on my face and got in the SUV and drove once I told him where we were going with no questions asked.

It took us ten minutes to get to Royce's house and there was already a car there that I didn't recognize. Drawing my gun, Jacob followed behind me. I opened the front door slowly and sucked in a breath at the sight in front of me.

Rosalie had only a sheet wrapped around her and tears streaming down her face with Royce on the floor, unconscious. His face was already bloodied and bruised and I looked up to see none other than Emmett.

"Rose!" I yelled and ran over to her.

She started sobbing hysterically and I pulled her in close, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Shh, it's okay. He won't hurt you ever again. Although, it looks like Emmett beat me to the fun."

The large man grinned at me and moved towards us, joining in the hug. I wrinkled my nose and moved away, allowing the two to have a moment.

"What's he doing here anyway, Rose?" I questioned.

Emmett smiled sheepishly at me while Rose took a deep breath to calm herself.

"He showed up just in time. Royce was trying to, to…" she started crying again before she could finish the sentence.

I looked at Emmett who nodded at Alice. The pixie came over and guided Rosalie upstairs to get dressed while Jasper, Emmett, and I stayed in the parlor. Jacob was keeping an eye on the front door.

"I want an explanation and I want that explanation now. As grateful as I am for you stepping in when you did, why is a member of the opposing mob at my friends ex-boyfriend's house?"

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and ran a hand through his hair.

"I just wanted to talk to her. I knew where she was going to be tonight and when I pulled in to talk to her I had a feeling that something was wrong. I snuck in through the bedroom window where he was on top of her and she kept yelling at him to stop and hitting him whenever she could. I saw red and couldn't stop myself from beating the piss out of him. Mobsters many not have many rules, but respecting women is one of them."

I didn't know what to say. Jasper stepped forward and looked as though he was about to punch Emmett, but he stuck out his hand instead.

"Thank you, Emmett. You saved my sister. I don't know if I can ever repay you."

Emmett accepted the extended hand and smiled in return, winking at me.

"I hope you know that this doesn't mean that there's an alliance between us and Masen. I still hate the bastard," I stated.

Emmett looked at me for a moment, opening and closing his mouth a few times. He finally just shook his head and turned back towards Jasper.

"Want to help me move this useless piece of shit? I know where we can have some fun with him where no one will hear him screaming."

Jasper's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He looked at me hopefully and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Fine. But I want you back to us once you idiots are done. And this does _not_ mean that there's an alliance," I reiterated.

The two ignored me while Emmett picked up Royce and Jasper followed him slowly behind. I made my way up the stairs, ready to hear Rosalie's side of the story and help her through this very difficult time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Rosalie, I said no. And that's my final answer."

I wanted to look away when the tears started, but I knew I had to be strong. There was no way that I could allow something like this to happen. Sometimes I had to look out for the whole instead of the individuals.

She didn't even argue, just hung her head and walked out the door. Normally when Rosalie didn't get things the way that she wanted, she would fight back. This time she was just defeated and it hurt my heart.

"Bella, I understand where you're coming from, but don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Alice asked.

I turned my glare towards my other best friend and let the uncomfortable silence settle. My men needed to learn to not question my decisions. She shifted around uncomfortably in her seat while I kept my stare on her without blinking. She finally stood and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. Once I poured a glass of scotch I sat back down in my seat and stared at nothing. I felt horrible for what I said to Rosalie, but this was something I could not and would not budge on.

After a few minutes of staring at nothing there was a quiet knock on my door.

"Come in."

I looked up to see Jasper walk in looking tired.

"Is something wrong?" I asked immediately, sitting up straighter.

He shook his head and took a seat in the chair his sister had previously been in. He lay his head in his hands and sat quiet for a few moments before speaking.

"I think I figured out who was involved in my parent's murder."

I poured him a glass of scotch and handed it to him. He nodded gratefully and took a large gulp before continuing.

"You remember when you finally told me about this Riley Biers kid? And had Jacob run that background check?"

I nodded.

"The name was really familiar but I couldn't place from where. I finally asked Rosalie about it and he was a kid that used to absolutely admire our parents. He wanted to shadow them, learn about them…to the point where it was creepy. After they kicked him out of our house he said he'd get revenge. He's also been arrested before for suspected car bombing but nothing was ever proven."

I turned back to my own glass of scotch deep in thought. If what Jasper said was true, then Biers could be playing us all for the fool. And I really didn't like being played a fool.

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"I say we keep a close eye on this asshole. If he's, in fact, the one who killed my parents I was dibs. No questions asked."

I nodded and shook his hand in agreement. He stood up and downed the rest of his scotch, placing the glass on my desk.

"Please reconsider what you told Rosalie earlier. I know and totally agree with your reasoning, but she's my sister. And I think he's a great match for her even if he's on the opposing side."

"I thought you'd be the only one on my side in this one, Jasper."

He shrugged and walked towards the door.

"Our crew may be my priority, but Rosalie is an extremely close second. And I think some factors could be overlooked."

"Get out, Jasper. I'm done arguing about this."

He left as I requested and I poured myself another glass of scotch. I could feel the buzz that I was waiting for. The warmth was spreading and it felt amazing. After I had finished my second glass, there was another knock on my door.

"Come in."

Alice walked in my office wearing a short red dress and black heels that made her almost as tall as me. I looked at her curiously and she walked over to me, taking away my bottle of scotch and putting it back in the bar.

"I'm glad that I got to you before you were too wasted. We're going out tonight with the rest of the gang and you're coming with no ifs ands or buts. Except for your cute little butt in this gorgeous blue dress."

She pulled the dress out from behind her back and I whistled. It sure was a beauty.

"Only if you have the matching white heels with you," I conceded.

She squealed and threw the dress at me telling me to get ready while she looked for the shoes. I did as she commanded and walked into my bathroom where she had the shoes ready and everything set up for her to do my hair and makeup.

Before I had taken over for my father, this was a common occurrence for the girls. We'd go out to the club my father owned once a week and have a great time flirting with guys and getting drunk. Ever since I became in charge there were too many responsibilities to have that kind of fun. I had to agree with Alice that it was time for all of us to go out and have fun.

Once she had given me the smoky eyes and flawless red lipstick, we walked downstairs to where the limo was waiting. Jacob was holding the door open wearing a tux of his own. I laughed at his sad expression and patted his arm while walking by.

"You look adorable, Jacob. Now stop looking like someone ran over your puppy."

He grunted in response and I laughed again while getting in the backseat. Rosalie was sitting on one end wearing a black strapless dress and gold heels. The men were all wearing some variation of a button-down shirt and jeans or black slacks.

I sat next to Alice and after a few minutes, Rosalie slid over and joined in the conversation. Even though she was mad at me, we vowed to have a good time. Once we pulled up to the club that my father gave me as a present, Alice handed me a blue clutch. I opened it and grinned when I saw the gun. She knew how to make me happy.

The three of us walked into the club with our arms intertwined, the men not far behind. Alice nudged me and pointed towards the bar which I followed happily. The two girls ordered their drinks and headed to our regular booth while I decided on what I wanted.

"I'll have a dry martini, Victoria."

While she was making my drink I felt someone walk up to me and sit in the chair next to mine. I knew almost immediately who it was.

"For such a bad ass, I expected you to drink something not so girly," the deep voice stated.

I shrugged and took a sip of the drink.

"I had a couple glasses of scotch before I got here. Don't flatter yourself, Masen. How the hell did you get in my club anyway?"

He chuckled and ordered a beer of his own.

"Your guard at the front isn't below taking bribes."

"Maybe I should cut off his fucking hands, then."

Edward spit out his beer and laughed so hard he started to cry. I smiled slightly and finished the rest of my martini in one drink.

"I wouldn't put it past you," he admitted once he had himself back under control.

"I've done worse for a lot less," I replied.

We sat in silence for a few minutes while he doctored his beer.

"So, why are you here? I know it's not to kill me or any of my men."

He turned back towards me with an eyebrow raised.

"I thought it was obvious."

I shook my head and waved to Victoria.

"Give me a beer, please."

She popped the bottle open for me and walked towards the next customer who was trying to flag her down.

"Please, enlighten me."

He grinned and I felt his hand move to my thigh.

"You fascinated me, Isabella. I've never met a female who could run an operation as efficiently as you…especially for how young you are. You won't be talked down to and you don't take no for an answer. You demand the best from your men but you can also be fair. At the same time, you can be a ruthless son of a bitch," he explained.

I elbowed him in the ribs and he winced.

"Did I say you could touch me?"

He finished the rest of his beer and grabbed my hand, leading me to the dance floor. He put his hands on my hips and pulled me flush against him. I couldn't stop myself from grinding my ass against him earning a low growl.

"I usually don't make it a mission to sleep with the enemy. You're making me a changed man, Isabella."

I turned and faced him putting my finger against his lips.

"You talk entirely too much."

I leaned forward and kissed him. It was something that started out slow but quickly escalated and I had to pull away to get a breath of fresh air. His eyes were full of lust as he looked me up and down.

"Red lipstick is my weakness."

I smiled and he leaned in for another kiss. Instead, I kneed him in the crotch and put my foot on his back holding him in place once he had fallen.

"I won't just be another easy lay for you, Masen. Don't think I haven't forgotten that you're the enemy and there won't be an alliance."

He rolled around in pain and I rolled my eyes. I walked to the booth where the girls were waiting for me. Alice's jaw looked like it was going to hit the floor while Rosalie glared.

"Alice, close your mouth. You're going to catch flies if you stay like that much longer."

"How dare you, Bella!" Rosalie screeched.

I raised an eyebrow questioningly towards her.

"You won't let me date Emmett yet you can go make out with the head honcho himself in _your own_ club?!"

I crossed my arms and stared her down until she backed off.

"I was playing him, Rosalie. Since apparently I'm the only one around here who can put all of us in front of her own selfish needs it wasn't that hard to do."

She stood up and Jasper grabbed her arm, shaking his head. She ripped her arm out of his grip and stormed past me right out the front door.

"Make sure she was one of the guards with her," I stated simply.

Jasper did as I said and made his way to the front door with a phone already up to his ear. Alice cleared her throat to get my attention.

"Rose did have a point, Bella. Even we could tell from over here that there's something between you and Edward whether you want to admit it or not."

I scoffed and flipped her off.

"You don't know what you're talking about Alice. Now I demand some respect from the lot of you! Stop questioning the decisions I make. I'm in charge and you work for me. Start acting like it," I spit out.

She nodded solemnly and made her own way to the door.

"I need another drink to get through this night," I murmured to Jacob.

He got up and came back from the bar in a very short amount of time. After he was sitting a waitress made her way over with a tray full of shots. I grinned at my favorite guard and took two immediately having to stop myself from coughing from the burn.

"I need to take a leak. Think you'll be okay for a couple minutes?" he asked.

I nodded and took another shot as soon as he was gone. That put me over the edge and I was officially drunk. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist, dragging me towards the back door. Once I realized it wasn't Jacob I struggled but everything seemed to be moving so slow.

"I know you have feelings for me, Isabella. Even if you won't admit it to yourself."

Edward moved me so my back was against the brick wall and I felt his breath across my face. He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Leaning in, he kissed me and there was no way I could stop it this time.

His hands moved back down to my waist and he pulled me closer. My hands went into his hair and I tugged gently, earning myself a moan. I scraped my fingernails against his scalp and felt his fingers dig harder into my flesh, sure that it would leave bruises.

"I want you," I whispered after pulling away.

He had a pained expression and sighed and rested his forehead against mine.

"It's not right. You're drunk and not in your right state of mind."

I pouted and he groaned, kissing me again. His lips trailed down to my jaw and down my neck. My breathing sped up as he reached up I felt his hand gently run across my breast. It had been a long time since a man had touched me like this.

"I'm sorry, Isabella. I can't take advantage of you like this. Let's get you home so you can go to sleep."

"No, they'll try to shoot you," I responded.

He pursed his lips and threw me over his shoulder and semi-ran towards a car waiting close to the alley. He dumped me in the back seat and answered his ringing phone.

"Yeah, I've got her. No, it's not a kidnapping this time. Yes, I swear. I don't have to explain myself to you, Emmett. She's going to stay at my house tonight. Good god you of all people should know I'm a gentlemen. Shut up, Emmett and go take care of your woman."

He hung up the phone and looked down at my head resting in his lap. He smiled but I couldn't understand why.

"Head to my house, Aro. Make sure you let the guards know that we're coming."

The man rolled up the partition and I started to drift in and out of consciousness. I felt Edward's warm lips ghost across my cheek finally landing on my lips. Before I could take it any further he pulled away and ran his hands through my hair.

"Sleep, pretty girl. I know you'll be kicking my ass in the morning so you'll need the energy for it."

I fell asleep before he could say anything more.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **Hey guys! The rest of this week is going to be pretty hectic and I wasn't sure when I'd be able to update next so here it is. If I get the chance, I'll try and update again before the end of the week.**

I woke up dazed and confused, looking around a room that I didn't recognize. It was all dark, with dark paneling and carpeting. Even the bedsheets and comforter were a dark red. I looked down to see an arm wrapped around my waist and slowly looked over to see who was lying next to me and gasped. No. There was no way that I had sex with Edward Masen last night.

I jumped out of bed and stumbled and grabbed on to the wall to steady myself. The movement had woken up Edward who sat up and looked around with his eyes finally landing on me. He held up his hands in surrender, stood up, and walked over to me slowly.

"What do you remember from last night?" he asked.

I had to think about it for a minute.

"I remember Jacob bringing me a tray full of shots and I don't remember anything after taking one."

He chuckled and put his arms down to his sides.

"Well, you had three to be exact."

My eyes widened in shock. It wasn't like me to get so drunk that I couldn't remember what I did the night before. What kind of boss does that when we need to be on alert at all times?

"No, we didn't have sex if that's what you're wondering."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

"Then why the hell did I wake up in your bed?"

"Well, you were all over me last night but I didn't want to take advantage of you in your drunken state. I was going to take you back to your house to sleep it off but you said your guards would shoot first and ask questions later, which I believed. Mine would do the same thing. So, I did the only thing I could do which was to bring you back here."

Sadly, his story was very believable. Jacob had been known to shoot first and ask questions later. He definitely wasn't shy when it came to the trigger. Oh, Jacob! I needed to call him and let him know I was alright. I searched the bed for my phone and groaned in frustration when Edward quirked an eyebrow at me.

"I need to call my guards and let them know I'm okay," I explained.

He looked at me sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, about that…"

I got off the bed and in his face.

"What do you mean 'about that'?"

"I figured, if you're anything like me, that you'd have some kind of tracking device on your phone just in case. I didn't want to risk someone showing up and starting World War III so I may have destroyed it."

"You _what_?!" I screeched and lunged for him.

He fell backwards but was able to catch himself before we hit the floor too hard. I ended up straddling him and smacking his chest. He didn't even look upset, he just looked fascinated and even entertained. I paused the assault on him to get a good look at his face. I could never deny how handsome he was but looking at him up close and personal made a difference. His photos sure didn't do him justice.

He smirked when he realized I was checking him out but did the same in return. That's when I realized that all I was wearing was one of his t-shirts and my panties from the night before. I blushed bright red and tried to get up but his hands went to my hips and held me firmly in place.

"Now that you're sober you can make an actual decision about what you want to do with me. Or, rather, to me."

I could easily get out of his grasp but I decided to tease him a little bit. I rubbed myself against his growing erection slowly and he groaned, pushing me lower onto him. It was my turn to smirk with how much I could affect him by doing so little. Daringly, I bent down and connected his lips with mine and grinned in satisfaction when he jerked his hips up.

His hands left my hips and made their way up towards my breasts. I welcomed his touched as he ran a thumb over my nipple and gasped when my shirt was suddenly ripped from me. He couldn't take his eyes off my chest and I almost swore I heard him whisper beautiful before taking one in his mouth.

I knew I shouldn't let this continue. I couldn't let this continue. But at the same time I couldn't make him stop. He was making me feel things I hadn't felt ever since…well, ever. Sure, I'd had sex a few times with a few different guys but it was nothing like this.

"Please, Edward…"

He stopped what he was doing and looked me in the eyes. It almost looked like fear but I had no idea why.

"What is it that you want, Bella?" he murmured softly.

Instead of answering I kissed him again with my hands slowly moving down his chest. Our tongues were locked in a battle for dominance, my hands reaching to slide off his pajama pants when the door burst open.

"Yo, Ed! We just got a call that- oh shit! I didn't realize you were still here," Emmett stated before Edward threw something at his head.

He scurried away and Edward looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Isabella. Stay here and let me see what the big idiot needs."

He walked out of the room and I grabbed the big red sheet and wrapped it around myself. I felt too exposed after Emmett having seen me half naked when I couldn't even let him and Rosalie be together. I should have known better than to get myself in such a sticky situation. I knew that if things were to continue with Edward like this, things would never be the same. I couldn't put my personal wants in front of what my men needed me to do.

He came back after a couple minutes and smiled gently at me and sat next to me on the bed.

"Sorry about that. Emmett is the world's biggest idiot who thinks he needs approval for every little thing he does even though it's something he can handle on his own. Now, where were we?"

He leaned in to kiss me again but I pushed him away. He looked hurt but I couldn't let it get to me. I knew what I had to do.

"Stay away from me, Edward Masen. I want nothing to do with you."

I stood up and put my dress back on. I blushed once I realized that he had probably been the one to dress me last night. Once I found my shoes I made my way towards the door only for him to block it.

"I've had to work hard to get your attention, Isabella. There's no way I'm just going to let you leave like this."

I raised an eyebrow at how aggressive he sounded. This must be the mob boss side of him that I hardly ever saw.

"You don't control me, Edward. Now move before I make you."

He shook his head and stepped forward causing me to take a step back. I didn't want him touching me when I knew it'd sway my decision to leave.

"Why do you want to leave so badly, Isabella? We could make things work. We could form an alliance and make the world's greatest mob. Everyone would fear us and there'd be no question about who's in charge," he pleaded.

I smiled and stepped closer to him. His arms went around my waist and I slapped him hard. His hand went to his cheek and his hopeful expression turned sour.

"You can't push me away forever. You may say that you're not attracted to me but your body says differently. I know you crave my touch. You make me feel things I've never felt before and it has to be the same for you."

I got in his face so we were only a couple of inches apart.

"You disgust me, Masen. I've worked hard for what I have now and I won't let some pathetic _boy_ step in and try to take what's mine. The next time you interfere in my work, I'll make damn sure it's the last time. This is my territory, my rules. So stay the fuck away," I spat at him.

This time he didn't try to stop me when I walked away. I went out the front door and towards the car that was waiting for me. I guessed that Emmett or Edward had called Jacob to come pick me up. He was grinning from ear-to-ear when I got in the car and the look I gave him was enough to keep him from asking too many questions.

Once we got back to my house Alice and Rosalie were waiting for me in my office. I got dressed in my favorite black shirt and white pants and made my way to my waiting friends. Rosalie gave me a dirty look while Alice appeared to be thoughtful.

"So, how is he in bed?" The pixie asked without hesitation.

I lit a cigarette and took my seat.

"I wouldn't know. We didn't have sex and once I realized what was happening I left. I told him to stay away from all of us, especially me. I never want to see that smarmy face of his ever again," I replied.

Rosalie snorted and crossed her legs. I raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for an explanation.

"I don't believe the shit you're spewing about not having sex with him. You just don't want to look like a hypocrite."

I slammed my hand on the table causing the two other ladies to jump.

"Damn it, Rosalie! Cut the shit already! You know exactly why you can't be involved with Emmett romantically, it's a conflict of interest. I know you say it's all about love and that you'd never betray us but it's a load of bullshit. If you don't shut the fuck up about this there will be punishment. Got it?"

She stood up so fast she tipped the chair backwards behind her.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! You don't control my life! What's so hard about just letting me be happy?"

I stayed seated and leaned forward so my elbows were resting on the desk. Alice looked fearfully between the two of us knowing better than to try and interfere.

"You're the one who wanted to be a part of this, Rose. You knew there would be sacrifices and you took the oath. I am sick of you thinking you can just disrespect me like this and there will be punishment. You're going to spend the next month working on the docks and Alice will take over the employment aspect. If I so much as hear you speak about Emmett one more time, I'll make sure to have him taken care of," I replied coldly.

The leggy blonde clenched her fists and stormed out of the office, Alice catching the door before it could slam closed. I pinched the bridge of my nose and Alice righted the chair and sat in it.

"Bella, don't you think you're being a little harsh? You know how much she hates working with shipments and Emmett is harmless."

"Oh, so now you're going to start questioning my authority too? Is this what happens when I am too easy on you guys? Well that shit is done. I tried being for fair to everyone and this is what it gets me. From now on there's no mercy. I'm not going to be listening to excuses."

Alice gulped and nodded while looking down at the floor.

"You're dismissed, Alice. Be sure to let Jasper know of the changes."

She scurried out of the office and I had to stop myself from pouring a glass of scotch. I was still hungover from yesterday but everyone was making things very stressful. Sighing, I got up and walked downstairs where Jacob was waiting for me.

"I need to let out some steam. Let's go to the shooting range," I told him.

His eyes lit up and he practically ran to the car. The shooting range was one of Jacob's favorite places to go which was why I always tried to take him. It was only a ten minute drive and I already had my gun loaded and ear plugs in in a record time. He couldn't contain his excitement at getting to shoot the target next. I laughed and we went through a few rounds of trying to hit different targets when I could sense someone's presence appear. I had a feeling it wasn't someone that I wanted to see.

Jacob tensed once he realized someone else had shown up unannounced and lowered his gun while slowly turning towards the intruder. We both let out a breath once we realized it was Emmett who looked almost…shy. He made his way towards us and I waved Jacob away so we could have some privacy.

"What do you want, Emmett?" I asked.

He was wringing his hands together and looked around nervously. I decided not to push him since he didn't seem like the type of guy to get anxious over anything.

"I want to join you guys."

My jaw wanted to hit the floor but I had to keep my composure. I quirked an eyebrow and emptied my gun putting it back in the holster on my hip.

"You don't want me to date Rosie because I'm part of the enemy. Well, if joining you is what it takes to get the girl then that's what I'll do."

My expression softened as he explained his feelings. Now I could see why Rosalie like this guy so much. Under his tough exterior he was really just a teddy bear. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. These guys loved to make my life complicated.

"Emmett, I can't take you from Edward like that."

He looked defeated at my words and almost looked like he was going to cry.

"However, I can see how much you really care for her. You were the first one there when all of that shit went down with Royce. What did you guys do to him anyway?"

He grinned mischievously and I could almost swear I even heard him giggle.

"Let's just say that Jasper and I took care of the problem," he replied. I nodded in understanding and hesitated before continuing.

"This isn't an alliance. You keep shit about your crew to yourself and I expect the same of Rosalie. We will all be keeping a very close eye on you. As much as I like you, Emmett, you still work for Edward. As soon as I see a sign of a conflict of interest I'll personally kick your ass to the curb. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."

Instead of doing as I requested, he ran forward and scooped me up in a big hug.

"Thank you, Bella! Thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me!"

I laughed and smacked his arm playfully and he let me down. With the phone already to his ear he ran back to his car to tell Rosalie the good news. I sure hoped I wouldn't regret this.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"I said this wasn't an alliance!" I screeched as another water balloon hit me right in the back.

Emmett laughed and ran away, picking Rosalie up and throwing her over his shoulder. She was screaming, kicking, and laughing as he ran in circles around Alice and Jasper. So much had happened in the past couple of days that it was nice that were all able to somewhat relax and have fun. Even Jacob joined it once he found the water guns I had tried to hide from him.

"You're not throwing them right!" I yelled at Emmett when he ran by. That slowed him down enough for Jasper to pelt him with the water balloons he had filled with paint.

Tears were streaming down my face at his expression and Rosalie looked pissed. I gulped and grabbed Jasper's hand, running in the opposite direction with Alice not far behind. Jasper had gotten paint on her designer bathing suit and there would be hell to pay.

"Get back here you son of a bitch!" She screamed.

Instead of following Emmett stayed where we was to probably enjoy the show. It was always quite interesting when the Hale siblings got into an argument. Rosalie was more in your face and assertive while Jasper was quiet and logical. However, Jasper was the faster of the two and easily outran his sister. Alice wasn't nearly as lucky.

Rosalie grabbed the pixie around the waist and held one of the water guns to her head. Jasper stopped running and stared.

"What do you want, Rose? It doesn't have to end this way," he said slowly.

She narrowed her eyes and huffed in annoyance.

"Do you realize how much this bathing suit cost? A fucking arm and a leg is what it cost."

"Well, it's not my fault you have expensive taste," he retorted.

"Jasper, please," Alice pleaded, "I just got my hair done this morning."

"Yeah, Jasper, she just got her hair done today," Rosalie mocked.

A laugh escaped and I covered my mouth quickly. I didn't want to get dragged into this rodeo. The blonde turned and glared at me.

"Shut your mouth or else you'll be next, Swan."

I held up my hands in surrender and she turned her attention back to her older brother.

"You'll buy me two new bathing suits by the same designer," she stated simply.

He hesitated but agreed once he noticed the look Alice was giving him. Rosalie grinned in victory and let our friend go, sauntering back to her boyfriend. Emmett scooped her up and spun her around, planting a big kiss on her.

"That's my girl."

I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the other two. Ever since I gave them my permission to date they had been all over each other. If I'm being honest, it made me feel a big nauseous and lonely when I saw them together. Alice nudged me and nodded towards the house.

"Will you grab us a couple beers from inside? I don't think there's any more in the cooler."

I narrowed my eyes at her and crossed my arms.

"You guys expect me, the mob boss, to get the beer? I have a feeling you're trying to get rid of me."

Alice gulped and looked at Jasper in fear. He scratched his head and looked anywhere but at me. Rosalie and Emmett had overheard what happened and looked towards Alice, refusing to make eye contact with me. I started laughing hard and loud, surprising everyone.

"I'm just shitting with you guys. The look on your faces made it totally worth it," I said once I got my laughter under control.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Alice. I made my way to the house and went to the bathroom before grabbing the beers. Once I grabbed as many as I could carry I made my way back outside to where everyone was huddled just far enough away that I couldn't hear them or even attempt to read their lips. I lay the beer in the cooler and start making my way over but as soon as they notice I'm back they break apart and look slightly guilty. I raised my eyebrow questioningly and waited for an explanation.

"So you guys _were_ trying to get rid of me to talk about something. And what would this something be?" I asked.

They all exchanged glances but no one made the move to speak up. I waited and made eye contact for a long time with everyone until they started shifting uncomfortably.

"We don't want you to be mad," Alice started but Jasper clamped a hand over her mouth. Rosalie glared down at our pixie friend and made a zipping motion over her mouth.

"I swear to God if someone doesn't speak up quickly I'll make sure all of you pay," I threatened.

Emmett was the first to open his big mouth.

"Alice is right, we don't want you to be mad. But it was clear that no matter how hard we tried nothing was happening between the two of you except for the thing I walked in on that one day…" he muttered.

I felt myself blush and willed it away. They didn't need to know how embarrassed I was about the ordeal.

"So, you're trying to set Edward and me up," I stated plainly.

Rosalie and Jasper nodded while Emmett and Alice just stood there, gauging my reaction. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"As much as I appreciate you guys trying to look out for me, kindly butt out of my love life. There's a very clear reason why nothing can happen between Edward and I so please just shut up and mind your own damn business."

Everyone except Rosalie agreed and I glared at my best friend.

"Especially you, Rose. Just because I let you have your happily ever after bullshit doesn't mean that I need it too."

She pursed her lips and grabbed Emmett's hand, leading him towards the house. Alice and Jasper were communicating silently while I jumped in the pool. When I resurfaced everyone was gone and I breathed a sigh of relief. I really hated it when my friends tried to get involved in my personal life like that. I pulled over one of the floats and rested on it, enjoying the rare sunny and warm day.

After about fifteen minutes of enjoying my alone time I felt someone's presence more than heard anything. I opened one eye and watched the all-too familiar figure walk towards me. I turned the other way once he was almost to the edge of the pool. He stood there for a few minutes before anything.

"We need to talk," Edward said.

I laughed and turned back towards him.

"That's something that couples who are about to break up say. So get to it, pretty boy."

He ran a hand through his hair and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one and taking a few puffs before he said anything else.

"I want you to give me a legitimate chance," he finally said.

I raised an eyebrow and waiting for further explanation.

"It's clear that there's something between us. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. I want you to give me a chance when you're not drunk and can make your own decisions."

I pursed my lips while I thought about what he said. With how much everyone was pushing for this to happen it made me want to throw all of the reasoning out the window and let him have his way with me. But I also knew it would be something difficult to do and he hadn't done much to try and earn my trust.

"I don't know, Edward. You understand why I'm so hesitant."

He nodded and dropped his cigarette, putting it out with his foot.

"Please, I just want one chance. A date out on the town. We'll go to the best restaurant and I promise that you'll have the time of your life. If you don't, then I'll leave you alone. But I have to at least try."

He made a valid argument. If I could allow Rosalie and Emmett the happiness they found it each other, why couldn't I do the same thing for me? I finally nodded in agreement and the smile on his face was unlike any other.

"Pick me up tonight at seven," I stated simply.

He nodded and walked away with an extra spring in his step. I rolled my eyes and got out of the pool and went into the kitchen to check the time. It was only three in the afternoon but I needed time to pick out an outfit that'd make his jaw hit the floor. I picked up my phone and called my best friends, explaining the situation. Alice squealed and told me not to worry about the outfit, she'd take care of it and be at my house in a couple of hours. Rosalie cussed me out and said she'd arrive with Alice to do my hair and makeup. In the meantime, I was to take a bubble bath and relax.

I did exactly as they said and took a long soak in the bathtub, to the point I was pruny. Jacob came upstairs once I had put my robe on with a smirk on his face.

"I just heard that you finally agreed to this date with Cullen. I thought you hated the guy," Jacob said.

I threw a shoe at his head and told him to get out. I was supposed to relax and there was no way I would let Jacob ruin it. I texted Alice to find out what color my dress was so I could do my nails and got started on that while I waited for the girls to arrive.

At five o'clock there was a knock on the front door. As soon as Jacob opened it they ran upstairs and slammed my bedroom door, dragging me into the bathroom.

"You better explain everything that happened after we left. Spare no details," Rosalie demanded.

I rolled my eyes and started my short story while Rosalie started curling my hair and Alice started on my makeup early since there wasn't much else to do.

"Why is that after we talked to you about giving him a chance that you decided to talk to him? After telling us to butt out," Rosalie questioned.

I shrugged and sighed.

"If I'm being completely honest with myself, I've known that there was an attraction between us. I just wanted to deny it because of who he is. He became a threat quickly in our lives and became the enemy but _damn_ does he have a great ass."

Alice snorted and added the finishing touches to my makeup right as Rosalie finished pinning my hair. They helped me into the little blue dress that Alice had picked out. It reached mid-thigh with a white thin belt that helped to accentuate my waist. The white pumps matched perfectly. I hugged the girls, thanking them for not being too mean about my sudden change of heart. The doorbell rang and I shooed the girls away, making my way down the stairs while Jacob opened the door.

His jaw dropped open once he saw me and I felt myself blush a little. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about moments like this. He stepped forward and grabbed my hand, helping me down the last few steps.

"Have her home by midnight," Jacob stated sarcastically.

Edward smirked but didn't say anything and led me outside instead. We were silent on the drive to the Italian restaurant, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He opened my door for me and kept his hand on the small of my back as he led me into the restaurant. He didn't need to say anything to the hostess, she just led us to a booth towards the back. I looked at Edward curiously and he looked a little sheepish.

"They know me here," he gave as an explanation.

I raised my eyebrow but didn't ask any more questions. It was probably something I didn't want to know about. I ordered the tortellini and Edward the lasagna, the waiter delivering breadsticks while we waited.

"So, tell me about yourself Bella. I want to know everything," he said genuinely.

I broke off a piece of the breadstick and popped it in my mouth, giving myself time to think.

"There isn't much that's interesting about me. You already know what I do for a living and you know I'm just a couple years younger than you. There's not much to it."

He huffed and took a sip of wine.

"Well, my dad is a doctor here in town and my mother is an interior designer. Although, that's more their covers. My dad is the one who got my family in the business and once he got older he decided I should take over," Edward admitted.

I was surprised that he'd mention anything specific about our work. Maybe I could open up and trust him a little.

"My dad started it for us as well. My mom left when I was three and tried to make contact when I was a teenager. I told her to fuck off."

He laughed and we stopped talking when the waiter delivered the food. Once the man had walked away Edward growled.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The waiter. I didn't like the way he was looking at you…like you were a piece of meat. He must be new."

I rolled my eyes and stabbed the pasta.

"You're overreacting. He did no such thing because if he did I'd kick his fucking ass and rip out his eyeballs to make sure he didn't do it again."

That stopped Edward from his rant and he looked at me almost in awe.

"I could see you doing something like that."

I smirked and we made small talk while eating. When we were talking about ordering dessert both of our phones rang. I frowned when I saw the number.

"Alice? What's wrong? No, no it's okay. Yeah, I'll be there as soon as possible."

He hung his phone up shortly after me and we made our way to the door.

"Shouldn't you pay for that?" I asked.

"Nah. I own the place, it's not like they'll be coming after me."

I laughed and got in the passenger side of the car. Edward took off going way over the speed limit but I couldn't complain.

"Who called you?" I asked.

"Emmett. He said someone went after one of our men and stabbed him in the leg. It doesn't look serious but I need to find out who the bastard is that dared hurt one of us."

His fierceness and loyalty to his crew was a wonderful thing to see. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

"Alice said the same thing except Jasper didn't actually get stabbed. The guy must not have realized who he was messing with," I mused more to myself.

Edward's grip tightened on the steering wheel and we all ended up at my restaurant in the back room.

"What the fuck is going on?" he demanded.

Emmett stood up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That idiot Embry decided to go out for a walk by himself without telling anybody. The stabber dude attacked him in a dark alley and got his leg but Embry was stronger. After he hit the guy pretty good the attacker ran. There were no cameras around for us to see and he didn't get a good look at the guy's face."

Alice stood up next and I nodded for her speak up.

"It was a similar situation with Jazz. We were out running errands and I had run to the bathroom. When I came back Jasper had a split lip and he started taking off after who had hit him. The man got away before Jasper could get a good look at him though."

I clenched my jaw in anger and Edward grabbed my hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"You know what this means?" he asked. I nodded.

"It's time for an alliance."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It had been a couple of days since the attacks on our men. Edward and I started working together day and night to find the bastard who dared try and hurt them. Jasper was with us part of the time, pissed that the guy even got a hit in.

"I bet I know who the bastard is," Jasper stated one day.

I looked up from my computer and Edward continued playing on his phone but waved his hand to show that he was listening.

"Riley Biers."

My hands stopped typing and I slowly looked over at my…friend who is male. We were too busy focusing on what had happened to really take the time to talk about us and where we wanted this relationship to go. I had forgotten about Riley but was suspicious once I realized he hadn't contacted me or Jacob.

"There's probably something I should tell you about Riley," I replied slowly.

Edward finally looked up from his phone and smirked at my tone.

"You mean the part where you hired him to be a double agent?"

I'm pretty sure I looked like a fish out of water with him and Jasper laughing as hard as they did. I looked between the two and shook my head.

"How'd you know?"

"Bella, I wanted you to catch Riley that day. We sent him out knowing that he had no chance against you. We were hoping that you'd try to do something like that."

I huffed and went back to my computer. So much for being ahead like I originally thought.

"That doesn't explain why I haven't heard from him."

That made Edward stop what he was doing and look at me again, his eyebrows scrunched together.

"What do you mean you haven't heard from him?"

"I mean exactly as I said. Neither Jacob nor I has heard from him ever since that day he tried to attack me."

Edward immediately had his phone to his ear and I motioned towards Jasper having him eavesdrop on the conversation. They went into the other room and I heard raised voices a few minutes later right before the two of them came back into my office.

"Really? You had to send him to follow me?" Edward asked.

I giggled at his expression and tried to look serious but even he couldn't hold back his smirk.

"I just got off the phone with Emmett. No one has seen Biers for a while. He's so low in our ranks that he disappeared without anyone noticing."

I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips.

"What? What's that look for?"

"You know…as the boss it's your responsibility to keep track of the men working for you no matter how insignificant their job is. So it's _your_ fucking fault if he's the one that did this."

I heard Jasper's intake of breath but ignored it standing straight up from my chair and slamming my hands on the table. Edward adopted a hostile stance and narrowed his eyes at me, nostrils flaring.

"Who are you to accuse me of anything? I seem to recall always having the upper hand."

I got in his face immediately and could feel his warm breath fanning across.

"That may be the case, Masen, but your dumb shit mistake got my men and yours injured. No matter how minor Jasper's injuries are, someone still went after him," I responded softly.

"If it is in fact my mistake then I'll fix it. I don't need you telling me what to do."

"I wasn't telling you what to do you asshole piece of shit! But now I am. Get your shit together and figure this out because if another one of my men get hurt it's your fucking head that will be served on a platter. Got it?"

I stormed out before he could reply and drove to my house. I couldn't stand another second in the same room as him. There would be hell to pay if we discover that it was Riley behind all of this.

I stormed through the front door, scaring Jacob but I was too mad to laugh when he jumped.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I waved my hand and went up the stairs to my office immediately pouring a glass of scotch. Alcohol was definitely necessary at this point.

I sat by myself staring at the wall trying to think of other possible perpetrators when there was a knock on my door. I glanced over to see Alice and waved her in. She took the seat directly across from me and wrinkled her nose at my drink.

"I don't get how you drink that shit."

I shrugged and took another sip, enjoying the burn.

"I don't really like the taste. But it seems appropriate for someone in my position," I responded.

She laughed and wiped a tear from her eye. I smiled slightly and waited for her to speak again.

"I got a call from Jasper not long after you left."

I groaned and pulled out a cigarette. I had a feeling I knew where this conversation was headed.

"He really likes you, Bella. Apparently after you walked out Edward wasn't even that pissed. Jasper said he couldn't stop talking about how amazing you are since you're so feisty and can stand your ground."

I quirked an eyebrow and finished the last bit of my scotch and put out the cigarette after taking only a few puffs.

"Interesting. He didn't seem to like me all that much when I called him an asshole, which he is. He put us all in danger."

Alice rolled her eyes.

"You're so thick, Bella. This is a dangerous business we're in you can't ever really blame anyone besides the enemy. Now go put on that new green dress I just brought up to your room with the matching heels. You have a date in a half hour."

She pulled me up from my chair and shoved me through the door that joined my room and the office. I swore I heard the sound of a lock and grumbled under my breath. Why these people wanted to get in my business so often was annoying. But it seemed I had no choice so I put on the green dress which matched Edward's eyes. Still barefoot, I went in the bathroom put on a little makeup and put my hair up in a bun. After looking at the clock I noticed I had a couple of minutes left so I got my shoes on and made my way downstairs.

"Did Alice seriously lock my bedroom door?" I asked Jacob.

He smirked but didn't answer. I was about to demand he do so when the doorbell rang and I peered through the peephole making sure it was my date. Happy it proved to be the case, I opened the door and he gave me the look-over.

"God, you look beautiful."

I blushed and stepped outside.

"We'll discuss this later, Jacob," I reminded him.

He saluted me as I left and I rolled my eyes then followed Edward to the car.

"A Volvo? Really?"

He laughed after opening my door for me.

"I can't stand out all of the time."

He walked to his side of the car and we drove for about twenty minutes before my curiosity got the best of me.

"Where are we going?"

He smirked and turned on the radio keeping the volume low.

"If you're hungry I have reservations at another restaurant for us. After that, I have a surprise."

I agreed easily to the meal, my stomach growling proving my point. The meal was great and we had a lot of fun. Once we made our way back to the car he started driving in the opposite direction of my house and got that stupid smirk on his face when I gave him a dumbfounded look.

"It's part of the surprise."

"Well, what's the surprise? I'm not a big fan."

"It's not a surprise if I just tell you, Isabella. Now, enjoy the music."

He turned the radio up and I leaned my head back listening to his request. Clair de lune was so peaceful that I almost fell asleep. The car stopping jerked me awake and I looked around confused until I realized we were parked by the woods.

"It's dark and my shoes will never survive this," I muttered.

"And that's precisely why I had Alice pack you some flats. It's an easy trail." He handed me the green flats and I glared at him while changing into them.

He pulled a blanket, a lantern, and a picnic basket out of the trunk. Grabbing my hand, he led the way through the trail.

"You know, if you're planning to kill me I can think of at least three ways to murder you with that picnic basket."

He snorted but kept walking, keeping a firm grip on my hand.

"I don't doubt it. We're almost there."

After just a couple more minutes of walking he stopped and I gasped. The meadow he brought me to was beautiful, especially at night. It gave a magical feeling to the place. I stepped forward and he followed me to the middle, placing the blanket and lantern down then grabbed my hand to pull me down as well.

"It's a place that not many people know about. I found it one day when I was chasing after a guy that had tried to take out Emmett. I killed him right in this spot, actually."

"I'm glad you brought me here, Edward. It's absolutely breathtaking."

He leaned forward and tucked a loose stand of hair behind my ear, his hand resting on my neck.

"Not nearly as breathtaking as you," he responded quietly.

I held my breath as he leaned in and placed his lips gently on mine. The kiss quickly turned heated with me straddling him and him taking off his jacket. I unbuttoned his shirt while his hand reached behind me, unzipping my dress slowly. Once I finished I stood up and let the dress pool at my feet now only wearing my lacy black underwear.

He gasped and took off his shirt, standing up to undo his belt. His pants followed quickly with both of us in our underwear.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You can stop now," he stated softly while stepping forward and cupping my face gently. I grinned and kissed him in response.

His hands moved down to my waist and before I knew it, he took off my underwear and admired my now naked body.

"Beautiful," he murmured before taking off his boxers.

He lay us back down on the blanket and reached for his pants, pulling a condom out of the pocket. I quirked an eyebrow.

"Hopeful that you'd get lucky tonight?"

He grinned sheepishly and rolled it on fully lying down on top of me.

"Are you sure that you're okay with this?"

I sighed in frustration and pulled him close, kissing his lips then jaw making my way down his neck. He yelped when I bit him and I looked back at his face.

"Fuck me already, Masen."

That was all he needed. He reached down, touching me where I needed him most and made sure I was ready before slowly sliding in.

I groaned at the feel of him. He paused before he starting moving, making sure I was adjusted to his size before thrusting slowly. The tempo quickened and he grunted at my fingernails digging into his back. I couldn't stop though, it had been too long since I'd had sex with anyone. It didn't take long before I could tell that I was getting close.

"Please, Edward. I'm so close."

His face went to the crook of my neck where he kissed in a few spots before biting me. I gasped and his other hand went straight to my clit helping me get the release I was desperately craving. As I was coming down from my high I felt him pump into me a few more times before stilling and I glanced at his face. His expression was beautiful as he rode out his orgasm. Once he was over he grinned at me and kissed the tip of my nose.

"That was amazing," he murmured.

I nodded in agreement and stood up, wincing since I was a little sore. He helped me zip my dress up and we collected everything decided to head back to the car.

"What was in the picnic basket anyway?" I asked as we got to the car.

"Cheesecake. I figured we could eat it later tonight."

"Oh, hoping that you'll get lucky for a second time tonight, eh?"

"This is a strong possibility."

I kissed him before sitting back in the car and we drove to his house.

"I don't have anything to wear," I stated.

"That's perfectly alright with me. Personally, I prefer when you're naked."

I smacked his chest playfully and he rubbed the spot, pouting.

"I may have also had Alice pack you an overnight bag," he replied.

"Thank you for such an amazing night tonight, Edward. I didn't know that you had a romantic bone in your body."

He looked slightly insulted as he got out and opened my door for me, grabbing my hand and leading the way to his bedroom.

"I am the king of romance thank you. I'm hurt that you'd think otherwise," he said playfully. I rolled my eyes and walked into the bathroom to freshen up. Hopefully I'd get to have some more fun before I went to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **Warning: Violence towards the end of the chapter.**

 **All of your reviews make me so happy guys. Thank you for all your words of support and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far. Also, as a heads up, I'm going back and working on previous chapters to get rid of any errors. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement!**

"So, how is he in bed? How big is his dick?" Alice asked at a hundred miles per second.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Alice, for the millionth time, I'm not telling you anything. We had sex, it was great, and he wants us to officially be an item, that's it. Now can we please get back to business?" I pleaded.

Rosalie waggled her eyebrows at me but set a folder down on my desk.

"I found the information you wanted on Riley Biers except the part of finding his actual person. He's a slippery little fuck."

I opened the folder and scanned it but not finding anything that I either didn't know or didn't have interest in. Tossing it back, annoyed, I leaned back and put my hands behind my head. This Riley kid turned out to be more of a nuisance than I ever thought possible.

"I know you don't want to talk about Edward, but you wouldn't believe what Jasper can do. There's this amazing thing he can do with his tongue-."

I threw a book at my best friend and she yelped, ducking for cover. It missed by a long shot with how quickly she moved. I humphed and crossed my arms, Alice sticking her tongue out at me.

"So we're at a standstill," Rosalie finally stated.

I poured a glass of scotch and tried to resist the urge to pull out a cigarette. Jacob and a few others had been trying to get me to quit lately and I knew it'd be better for me in the long run. It sure didn't make it any easier when I had a craving.

"So how're things with you and Emmett?" I asked.

Rosalie wrinkled her nose and sat in the chair that Alice was still hiding behind.

"His ex came into town this week and he didn't tell me that they dated until after we took her out to dinner."

I had to try not to smile at her confession. Emmett was such an idiot sometimes but you couldn't not love the big dumbass teddy bear.

"Just suck his dick real good to show him that he's not missing anything," Alice piped up.

This time it was Rosalie who threw something at our very short friend.

"Have you not gotten laid in a while, Mary Alice? What the fuck is your problem?!" Rosalie bellowed.

"It's just that Bella put him on this Biers assignment and we've been too busy to do anything," she explained.

I ignored their bickering back and forth and returned to the folder. There was a picture of a girl with long, curly, red hair that looked slightly familiar. I couldn't place where I knew her from and tapped a pen while deep in thought. I didn't even notice when someone else entered the room.

"Bella? Bella!" Edward yelled.

I jumped and turned towards him, blushing.

"Sorry. I was thinking about something."

He quirked an eyebrow and I motioned him over to look at the folder.

"This Victoria chick. She looks familiar but I can't place from where," I explained.

He scrunched his eyebrows and pursed his lips.

"She works at Emmett's strip club. Occasionally bartends at your club as well," he finally said.

Rosalie stopped fighting with Alice long enough to turn around and I swore I saw fire in her eyes and steam coming out of her ears.

"A strip club? He has a strip club?!"

I ducked below my desk knowing that my office was about to be destroyed. Edward didn't follow my lead and earned a shoe to the head before he ducked and joined me. I held a finger to my lips and he nodded in understanding. About five minutes later there was no more noise and we peeked from under the desk to see that the girls had left but my office was in disarray. Edward chuckled and I shook my head.

"She wouldn't be so pissed if he had mentioned the strip club in the first place. So did you come here to do naughty things to me or discuss business?" I asked.

"A little bit of both."

Before I knew it his hands were grabbing my waist and lifting me onto my desk. I didn't hesitate in kissing him passionately. He growled lowly and ripped my shirt open, buttons flying everywhere.

"Hey! That's one of my favorite shirts," I protested.

His lips came crashing back down on my mine and his hands tangled in my hair.

"So I'll buy you another one," he murmured against my lips.

No matter how much we kissed and touched each other, I could not get enough of him. I couldn't even really remember why I hated Edward in the first place when he kissed me like that. Things were getting hot and heavy when a knock on the door interrupted us. Edward groaned and adjusted himself uncomfortably while I grabbed his jacket and wrapped it around myself.

"Go away," he said loudly.

The other person started laughing and barged in. I glared at Emmett but didn't have anything to throw at his dumb head since Rosalie had thrown everything from my desk.

"What do you want?" Edward demanded.

"We may have gotten a hit on Riley Biers. Found about thirty minutes away from here," he explained quickly.

Edward gave me a pointed look and I walked into my bedroom putting on a new shirt and meeting the guys downstairs. We all walked out to Emmett's jeep with Edward getting in the passenger seat.

"So, have you heard from Rose yet today?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"No, why?"

Edward and I couldn't stop the laugh that came to surface.

"Oh, no particular reason. Just curious."

He glared at me through the rearview mirror but immediately went back into business mode.

"It was Jasper that got the hit, actually. Somehow was able to track the GPS in the little prick's phone or some shit. We think he's hiding out in one of our safe houses, boss. If he's there I get the first hit."

Edward chuckled and granted his wish. We pulled up to the safe house to see a car no one recognized.

"Does anyone else know about this hit?" I asked.

"No, just the ones in this car and Jasper. I didn't take the time to tell anyone else lest we lose this opportunity. And lucky for me you two were about to bang so I didn't have to worry about finding the other person."

I smacked him across the chest while Edward just smirked. I took the backdoor, Emmett climbed in through a balcony door, and Edward was watching the front door. It didn't take long before we heard a crash and some cussing before we ran in and found Riley in a headlock. With no hesitation, Edward walked up to him and punched him square in the face, knocking the poor bastard out cold.

"Damn I really want to fuck you right now," I said.

"Save it for later," he said with an added wink.

Emmett rolled his eyes and took Riley out to the car where he tied him up and place duct tape over his mouth.

"So, your place or mine?" I asked.

Edward rolled his eyes but still had a ghost of a smile on his face.

"I'd be more than happy to oblige later, my lady, but now have this asshole to take care of."

"I wasn't talking about sex, Edward. I was talking about where we get to torture this idiot and make him pay for what he's done."

Edward turned and faced me, looking at me for a long time. The only thing that broke our eye contact was Emmett yelling for us to hurry up so he could finally have the fun he's been waiting for. The ride to my restaurant was short so Emmett brought Biers downstairs and tied him to the chair that had seen more blood than all of us combined.

"Make some phone calls, Emmett. I want our buddies here for this," I stated.

"Uh uh, no way. I'm waiting right here for when he wakes up."

"Did I fucking stutter?"

He look taken aback momentarily before puffing out his chest with a set glare on his face.

"You're not my boss and you don't tell me what to do."

I was at his neck with a knife to his throat in a heartbeat.

"Woah! Calm down guys. Emmett, listen to what Bella says. Since we joined together she's as much your boss as I am," Edward interjected.

I reluctantly pulled away and put my knife back in my boot. The larger man glared at me for a few seconds before retreating upstairs.

"What's that last bit I heard, Emmett?" I asked in a saccharine-sweet voice.

"I said if it weren't for the fact that he was getting laid that he wouldn't put up with your shit either!"

I laughed to the point where I was doubled over with tears streaming down my face. Edward just shook his head and pulled out his phone, trying to not join in the laughter.

It took about twenty minutes before Riley came to. By then Emmett had come back downstairs with Jasper and Embry. He couldn't get a hold of Alice or Rosalie and even my calls went straight to voicemail. I'd have to have a talk with the crew about keeping their cell phones on at all times.

"So this is the shit that tried to get me," Jasper stated amused.

Embry just crossed his arms and glared which made Riley squirm uncomfortably in his chair. No one said anything for a few minutes until Riley spoke up.

"If you're going to kill me, get in over with. I won't say shit."

I glanced at Edward and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Who's Victoria?" I asked.

Emmett stiffened next to me but I ignored him. Edward agreed to talk to Emmett later about doing background checks on everyone he hired in his club from now on.

"I'm not saying shit," Riley replied venomously.

I nodded to Jasper who tipped Riley's chair over and kicked him in the ribs. The kid gasped in pain but remained stoically silent. I sighed and grabbed my own chair, adopting my favorite position of sitting on it backwards.

"You know, this isn't my first rodeo. You're nowhere near the top of most important people I've had in this room. Not one of them has left alive. We can last a hell of a lot longer than you with this interrogation and I don't fancy hurting a kid as young as yourself even though you got yourself into this mess. Unless you start speaking you're going to force me to do things I really don't want to do. Which will piss me off and make me hurt you more. Understand?"

He didn't even look at me while I spoke. He made no acknowledgement that he even heard me but I was sure he had. I shook my head and nodded towards Jasper and Embry.

"I may not enjoy hurting a kid such as yourself but Jasper and Embry have no qualms. Especially since they're the two that you decided to attack. I'll leave you to them."

I got up and took Edward's hand, heading upstairs. We sat close to the door to wait for the boys to finish whatever they were planning for the kid.

"That was pretty hot," he finally said.

I smirked and pulled out my pack of cigarettes. He quirked an eyebrow causing me to shrug.

"I haven't quit yet. I'm considering telling Alice to fuck off and let me do what I want," I explained while searching for a lighter.

Successfully finding one, I lit it and he reached a hand out for the pack. He lit his own and we sat quietly smoking for a while until my cell phone rang.

"Dammit, Rosalie. What the fuck have I told you about leaving your phone on?" I questioned menacingly.

"Oh quit being so dramatic. Have you seen Emmett?"

"Get your ass to the restaurant right now."

I hung up before she could reply and Edward looked at me curiously. I ignored him and waited for the blonde to show up. It didn't take long before I saw her walking towards the door.

"Bella, what's the fucking problem?"

I fixed my cold stare on her until which worked half of the time with Rose.

"Stop questioning my authority, Rosalie. Watch your fucking tone or you'll join Riley downstairs."

She opened her mouth to reply but closed it just as quickly.

"Riley's here?" she finally whispered.

"You'd fucking know that if you answered the damn phone when Emmett called."

"Emmett's downstairs?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and reached for the pack of cigarettes but stopped myself. Taking a deep breath, I look at Edward then turned back to Rose.

"Yes, he's downstairs. No, you're not going down there until everything's done."

She didn't respond and instead took a seat at a table on the other side of the restaurant. I looked back towards the basement door and Edward followed my gaze once he heard it opening. Jasper came walking out with some blood on his face.

"I think he's ready to talk, boss."

I got up and went downstairs, Edward following closely behind. Rosalie moved to get up but a glare in her direction sat her back down.

Embry and Jasper had done quite a number on the poor kid since we went upstairs. It was equally impressive and frightening how quickly they could work.

"Jasper here tells me you're finally ready to talk?" I asked, returning to my favorite chair.

He nodded and I waited for him to start speaking.

"Victoria is my girlfriend. She's the head of one of the local gangs and she was originally after Masen's crew but then decided she wanted yours as well. It's all about power with her, and revenge when it comes to Masen."

I looked at Edward who was rubbing the back of his neck guiltily.

"And why would she want revenge?" I asked not taking my eyes off of Edward.

"You don't know?"

My head snapped towards Riley and I heard a collective gasp from the other men in the room. Too bad Riley didn't realize how badly he just fucked up.

"Did I say you could ask fucking questions? We wouldn't be sitting here having this wonderful conversation if I knew everything I wanted to you dumb shit," I replied and kicked his chair back over.

"Now tell me the damn story," I demanded.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"I-I honestly don't know much," Riley stuttered.

I clenched my fist and unclenched it several times. This kid was getting on my last fucking nerve.

"I didn't ask how much you do know and how much you don't know. Tell me what you fucking know before I get bored with this conversation and let Jasper and Embry go back to their fun," I stated through clenched teeth.

He hesitated and right as I was about to kick him in the ribs he started talking.

"All I know is that Edward and Victoria used to date and he wronged her somehow. I met her not long afterwards and we started dating. She told me bits and pieces of the story of how much of an asshole Edward is and how he needed to be taken down. I would do anything for her and I'm taking the bastard down."

I snapped and Jasper and Embry moved in quickly. I made my way upstairs ignoring Edward's pleas for me to stop. Rosalie peered from her table with curiosity in her eyes but she was smart and didn't say anything.

I felt Edward grab my wrist and I spun around, using his weight against him and pinned him to the floor.

"You have one minute to explain yourself."

He didn't speak up and I pressed my foot harder into his back.

"Fifty seconds."

"I didn't want to tell you about what happened between me and Victoria because it wasn't something I thought was a big deal. She's a minor pawn in some game that'll be easy to get rid of."

"If it's that easy to get rid of then why hasn't anything been done about it?"

He didn't respond to my question and I released him. He stood up and rubbed his side, wincing. I reached forward in an attempt to grab his shoulder but he grabbed my wrist and turned me around, holding my arm painfully.

"Don't you dare try to hurt me like that again."

I laughed and stepped back on his foot hard. He groaned but it loosened his grip enough that I could break it and I spun around wrapping my hand around his throat.

"You don't own me, Masen. You do _not_ tell me what to do. Get the fuck out of my restaurant and my sight and I never want to see you again. Got it?"

He nodded and I released my grip, watching him go. I wasn't expecting to feel so hurt over something like this. Rosalie walked over and gently rested her hand on my shoulder looking sympathetic.

"You should talk to him and get an actual explanation, Bella. You didn't really give him a good opportunity."

I shrugged her hand off and walked towards the door, passing by the table with my pack of cigarettes.

"It's not your business, Rose. Go talk to Emmett and leave me alone."

She didn't try to follow as I walked out to Jacob's car. He was thankfully quiet as we road back to my house.

"She's been in there for three days," Alice muttered.

I started giggling and went to take another drink of scotch only to get nothing. I frowned at the empty bottle and shook it, trying to get anything to drip out to no avail. I tossed the glass bottle away and searched through the bar to find anything with alcohol but with no success. After desperately searching for a couple more minutes my office door went flying open. Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper came walking in.

"Bella! How much have you had to drink these past three days?" Alice asked in disbelief.

I shrugged and went back to my search. I had a good buzz going but nothing near what I really wanted. I needed the alcohol so I wouldn't think about…him. That asshole didn't deserve my thoughts.

"C'mon let's get you cleaned up," Rosalie stated sympathetically.

She and Alice tried to pick me up but I fought, screaming and kicking. They were silently communicating with each other before simultaneously nodding towards Emmett. Next thing I knew, I was in the air and over his shoulder. I beat on his back and kicked continuing to scream bloody murder. Jacob peered in the doorway and shook his head sadly.

I continued to fight all the way to the bathroom when he put me in the shower, turning on the water.

"I really don't want to strip you down, Bella, but if I have to I will," Emmett threatened.

I stopped fighting and started crying, reaching for him. He leaned in and hugged me close. I didn't realize how badly I needed it until it began. I heard Alice and Rosalie walk in before I saw them. Rosalie put her hand on Emmett's shoulder and he pried me off and walked out of the bathroom. My two best friends got me out of my surely stinky clothes and helped clean me off.

Once Alice finished washing my hair they put me in a t-shirt and sweatpants. I was feeling more sober after the initial cold water was sprayed on me. They were looking at me pitifully before walking me to my bedroom and helping me lie down.

"Get some sleep, Bella. We'll be back in a few hours to check on you," Alice said.

I didn't get the chance to respond before falling into a blissful sleep.

I woke up when there was light shining through my window. I looked around confused and feeling like shit. Groaning, I flopped my head back down on the pillow and covered my eyes with my arm. I didn't even know someone had entered the room until I heard them clear their throat. I peeked out and saw my two best friends smiling down at me.

"Feeling any better, babe?" Rosalie asked.

I shrugged and put my arm back over my eyes.

"What happened?"

They looked at each other, silently communicating. Finally they decided to tell me everything that happened in the past four days. Apparently I had been more out of it than they originally thought.

"No one has heard from Edward since the day he left the restaurant. Word got around rather quickly about what happened with Riley and people have really backed off surprisingly. Normally when we kill someone it makes someone have a bitch fit," Alice explained.

I processed the information for a few minutes. Edward had mysteriously disappeared. Well, maybe not that mysteriously. I couldn't not be curious about where he had gone and what he was doing. I threw the thoughts out of my mind and turned back to business. The three of us discussed all of the shipments, purchases, and other things happened while I was…out of it.

There was nothing that really interested me and I got up out of bed to get ready only to sway and almost fall but Rosalie caught me before that could happen.

"Alice, go have Mrs. Cope make something for Bells. She hasn't eaten or had much to drink the past few days. Well, had any drinks that would actually help her."

I glared at Rosalie but accepted her help in putting on my clothes and making myself look presentable. When we got downstairs there was a plate full of eggs, sausage, and toast plus orange juice and a large glass of water. I inhaled everything on the plate causing Rosalie to smirk and Alice try to hide her laugh.

"You could almost beat Emmett in an eating contest," Rosalie stated.

I stuck my tongue out and wiped off my mouth, letting out a large belch. The two girls roared with laughter while Mrs. Cope looked at me disapprovingly but still with a hint of a smile on her face.

"Alright, let's head to the restaurant. I want to know anything and everything about this Victoria woman."

They nodded and followed me out to the car that Alice had driven over in. In a matter of minutes we were at the restaurant where almost everyone was assembled. I turned my attention to Jasper.

"What have you found?"

He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Riley wasn't lying about her wanting to take over everything you've worked for. She was after Edward's crew as well."

"Was?" Alice questioned. He nodded.

"The thing we can't find is a current location on her. We don't even know where her safe houses are if she has any. It appears that she's been using cash for everything so she hasn't left a trail. I think we need to give her more credit than we do now. She knows how to go into hiding and cover her ass."

I mulled over what he had said and turned to Seth.

"Have you heard any talk amongst the guys?"

He shook his head and I began pacing. There were so many places that she could hide since we didn't have much information on her as it was.

"Has anyone attempted to search for Edward? I bet he knows more than he was saying," I finally replied.

Everyone looked at each other uncomfortably and I slammed my hand on the table.

"Don't you be giving me this hesitant bullshit. Tell me what I want to know."

"The boss is back," Alice cheered.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't really but upset with her. After everything she and Rosalie had done for me in the past few days, I owed them so much.

"Yes, I've been doing some digging but it also ended up a cold trail," Emmett spoke up.

I furrowed my eyebrows. I had been thinking if Edward was going to disappear, he'd at least say something to Emmett. That meant he either was running away from everything or he was doing something he didn't want us to know about.

"Jasper, keep looking for Victoria. Emmett, I want you to try and contact Edward. Everyone stay alert and ready for anything. Whatever means necessary," I added.

They all agreed and went their separate ways. Jasper went straight to his laptop and Emmett walked out to his car with his phone pressed to his ear.

"Alice, Rosalie, come back with me to my house. There's something I want to look at."

They followed me obediently and I drove back, walking straight to my office. Someone had cleaned up since yesterday which I was silently grateful for.

"Jacob! Get your ass up here!" I yelled through the open door.

While we waited for him to show I went back to the folder on the very little bit of information Jasper had gathered on our favorite red head. I had a feeling that she was going to try and pull something big and I wanted to find out what before it happened. I nodded towards one of the open chairs and he sat down immediately.

"You're going to go undercover. I want you to get into Victoria's little gang and try to find out as much information as you can. However, I don't want you to kill her unless it comes to her life or yours. The hard part is figuring out where the bitch is hiding."

Jacob looked thoughtful and pulled out his phone.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Bella?" Rosalie asked.

I paused reading the file and looked up.

"I mean, you'd be sending him in blind. Who knows what they'd do to something who just comes out of the blue like this. We need to put more thought and careful planning into this before we just send him on his merry way."

I closed the file and sat in my chair with my feet on the desk, thinking about what she had just said.

"You're right, Rose. With everything that's going on I'm just wanting to get it done. Sorry for thinking so irrationally, Jake."

Everyone looked surprised. It was extremely rare that I apologized about anything unless I felt like it was a stupid mistake. However, I never felt guilt over things like that.

"Let's continue before you idiots find something else to get me to apologize about. From what little bit I gather here, I'd guess she's about a mile east of us. Once we get together with Jasper and plan we'll get you prepared with everything you need, Jake. Now get out of my sight," I added playfully.

He stuck his tongue out at me before leaving. Alice gave me a curious look.

"Spit it out, pixie. I know I'm gorgeous but take a picture, it'll last longer."

"It's just…why Jacob? He's pretty well known as your main body guard."

I smiled; I had been waiting for someone to ask me that.

"Give me some credit, I had put a little bit of thought into this. I want to make them think that he has turned against me and knows that they're quickly becoming my biggest pain the ass. But that's about as far as I got with the planning."

Rosalie's phone started ringing and she answered it immediately, walking towards the other side of the room. She spoke quietly and came back a couple of minutes later.

"Emmett found something on Edward. He'd been staying in a hotel not very far away from here. But when Emmett called to talk to him the manager said that he had already checked out just an hour ago. We might be able to get a track on where he's heading if he makes another purchase with his credit card."

"No, that's too obvious. He knows that credit cards leave a trace," I stated. "Unless…he wants to be found."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **Hey guys sorry this update took longer than normal. It's going to be like this for the rest of the semester since anatomy & physiology are kicking my butt. I'm still going to try and update once a week, though. Enjoy!**

"No. That's my final answer," I stated through clenched teeth.

Rosalie huffed and crossed her arms about to argue back when Emmett placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. The two of them walked out and I sighed gratefully. That argument had lasted at least ten minutes and the stress made me want to pour a glass of scotch. Too bad Alice made me promise to take a break from drinking.

I flicked through the updated folder on Victoria. There still wasn't much to go on aside from the fact that we now had a better idea of where she was. Jacob was practicing going under cover with Jasper and he'd be out on his own before too long. I was hopeful that this would all end okay, I hated having to put Jacob in danger like that.

The past several days had been very stressful for everyone. Now that we had a rough idea of where Victoria and Edward were, everyone was wanting to jump the gun. With Victoria I argued that we needed careful planning before anyone could even think about going in after her. She knew how to hide at the first scent of danger.

However, things got complicated when it came to Edward. Emmett and Seth wanted to go out and find him immediately which I argued against. He'd come back on his own time if he wanted to. But they thought that he wouldn't come back unless someone went out to bring his stubborn ass back. I forbade them from leaving town.

After Edward left, everything from his crew fell on my shoulders. Suddenly I was in charge of twice the people and twice the business. I had to have Leah help Seth with shipments and she proved to be quite helpful in training Jake how to go undercover. The boy quickly became smitten with our newest guest.

Managing one crew was hard enough without having to deal with all of the insubordination but now I had to deal with twice as much. Edward's crew was having difficulty accepting me as their new leader and I had to exercise a lot of self-control to not put a bullet in every last one of their thick heads.

I lay my head on the desk, resisting the urge to slam it into the wood multiple times. I enjoyed the quiet as long as possible. I knew it would only be a short amount of time before someone interrupted me.

Twelve minutes. It took twelve minutes before someone came knocking on my door. That had to be a new record. Straightening up and adopting the expression of a pissed off mob boss, I told them they could enter. I don't know what I expected but Alice and Jasper walking in, holding hands had not been one of the possibilities.

"What do you guys need?" I asked.

They looked at each other and Alice blushed which was quite rare. I saw him squeeze her hand before clearing his throat.

"We know things have been absolute chaos around here lately, Bella. But that sure hasn't stopped Alice and I from continuing our relationship. I proposed to her only a couple of hours ago and we'd like your blessing."

I smiled and got up, hugging my most loyal members.

"Of course you have my blessing. Do you have anything planned yet for the wedding or are you going to wait a while?"

"Well…we kind of wanted to get married next week," Alice replied.

I paused and thought about what I wanted to say.

"Alice, you know it takes a long time to plan a wedding. I don't want you guys to think I'm trying to stop you from rushing into things, I'm not, but there's just _so_ much that needs done to happen in just a week." Jasper's smile could have lit up the room.

"We were hoping that's where you'd come in. Everyone in town knows the big, bad, mob boss Isabella Swan. We were kind of wondering if we could throw your name around to help things move along?" Jasper asked shyly.

It wasn't like him to be shy so I knew this was something that meant a lot to him. I ran a hand through my hair and gave them a serious look.

"Yes, you can do that but be careful in how you do this. If someone's being an asshole let me know and I'll make a few calls. I can't promise that this'll magically solve all of the problems that's bound to come your way."

Alice squealed and let go of Jasper's hand, closing the small space between us and giving me a big hug. I chuckled and returned it, finally pushing her away after a few moments.

"Just remember that this was your decision to marry her," I said to Jasper with a wink.

He laughed quietly and grabbed Alice's hand again and puller her to his side.

"There was something else Alice wanted to ask you," Jasper added.

"Oh! I almost forgot. I'd love for you to be my bridesmaid," Alice stated.

I grinned and nodded earning myself another squeal. Before she could jump on me Jasper guided her out of the room so I could return to enjoying the peace and quiet. I attempted to focus on the Victoria folder but my mind kept drifting to Edward. How I'd look on his arm wearing a gorgeous white dress while our friends and family watched and cheered. It would be an outdoor wedding with a vanilla cake and-

I shook my head to clear the thoughts. I could not allow myself to go there. The second I found out the truth about Edward and him leaving as soon as I had sealed his fate. If he ever came back he'd be my enemy again, nothing else. Well, nothing besides the fact that was the enemy that I had slept with. Cringing at the thought I was finally able to return my focus to the task at hand, trying to read between the lines.

I spent the next couple of hours studying everything I could about the redhead until my bladder pleaded for release. I made my way to the bathroom when my phone started ringing. Cursing whoever it was, I walked back to the office and answered on the forth ring.

"What, Rosalie? It better be damn important because I just about pissed myself to get to the phone in time."

"They found him, Bella. They found where Edward is."

I immediately hung up the phone and finished my business before returning to my office. I had told them not to look for that bastard yet they did so against my wishes. I had the feeling that Rosalie would cover for whoever had done the actual work. I decided to make it my mission to find out who had gone against my direct orders.

With the addition of twenty-odd people to the mob we relocated to an abandoned warehouse just south of town. With everyone helping it had only taken about a day of work to get everything moved and presentable. I pulled into my spot and stormed inside. Rosalie was standing talking to Seth when I walked up and I saw slight fear in her eyes.

"Well? Who was it that disobeyed my orders Rosalie? I know you know and if you don't tell me there will be hell to pay."

She stepped back a few steps but I followed. We both knew if she were to run that there was nowhere I couldn't find her.

"I'm not asking again," I stated blandly.

She held up her hands in surrender and her eyes flickered over to Emmett. That was all the incentive I needed to storm up to him so we were an inch apart.

"You knew the orders, McCarty. You better have a good fucking answer before I rip your dick off."

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"He's not just my boss, Bella. He's also one of my best friends and I think he might in some trouble. He's disappeared before but not like this. At most he's back in a couple days but now we're going on a week."

I slapped him, hard. The sound still resonating as I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket.

"That's for going against what I said you fucktard. The only reason I'm not shooting your dumbass on the spot is because I can understand why you did it. However, if you disobey me again no matter the reasons, I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head."

He nodded and walked back towards Rosalie. I dialed Jasper's phone number and he answered on the second ring.

"Jasper? Yeah, it's Bella. How do you feel about going on a rescue mission with me?"

"Are you sure about this?" Jasper asked when we were almost to the hotel. I shrugged and looked out the window.

"I may hate his fucking guts right now but he's still one of our own. We don't leave someone behind like that. Plus Emmett thinks he's in trouble and that's something he wouldn't say lightly."

Jasper nodded and the rest of the ride was silent. We pulled up to the cheap motel and I had a feeling that something was wrong. I glanced at Jasper and saw the same unease in his eyes.

"They know we're here?" I asked.

"Yeah. I told Alice where we were going and she went to get everyone else gathered. They'll be here before too long. I don't think we should wait though."

Agreeing, we made our way to the front desk hand-in-hand and I had a huge smile on my face. The man behind the desk glanced up from the television but turned back to it almost immediately.

"Rate's ten bucks an hour. Cash or credit only. Sign your names in the book and I'll see what's open."

While Jasper wrote down our aliases I scanned to find Edward's name. I didn't see it anywhere but the name Tony Edwards caught my attention stating he was in room 14. Once Jasper handed the man twenty dollars he handed us the key to room 15 and shooed us away. I stopped at room 1 and knocked. No one answered so I waited a little bit and tried again with no success.

Jasper motioned for me to move as he picked the lock. It only took a few seconds and we were in. The place smelled as badly as one would expect and I noticed a body in the bed. The reddish hair was all too familiar and I ran over, checking his pulse.

Everything seemed fine aside from the fact that he wouldn't wake up no matter how hard we shook him and yelled his name. He didn't even flinch when I slapped him. Jasper looked around while I continued to try and wake him to no avail.

"I think he's been roofied," Jasper finally said.

"We need to get him to the doctor and figure out who the hell dared to drug him."

We carried him out to the car and laid him in the back while Jasper speeded back to the warehouse. I made a few calls on the way and we were greeted by Dr. Stanley who began running tests as soon as we got him on one of the cots.

"I believe Jasper was correct in his assumption. Drugs like these are very hard to catch with how quickly the body can metabolize them but it would appear he has the symptoms. However, it doesn't look like anyone actually did anything to him. Keep him on bedrest for twenty-four hours once he wakes up to make sure everything is out of his system and keep an eye on him just in case. I think you guys got there right on time," she explained.

I smiled gratefully and promised that there'd be a nice compensation for Jessica with how quickly she made it over. She left right as Emmett and Rosalie showed up. I stayed by Edward's side while Jasper explained everything that had happened.

Everyone had come and gone within just a few hours but I still never left his side. Emmett helped me move him to my house and put him in my bed. I wanted to stay up for when he woke up but the exhaustion from the day finally caught up to me and I drifted off while lying across his chest.

I wrinkled my nose and swatted at whatever had been tickling it. After just a few seconds it started tickling again and I opened my eyes after swatting it had been unsuccessful the second time. I look up and into my favorite pair of green eyes. His grin took my breath away as I struggled to remember why I had been mad at him in the first place.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like total shit. My head is throbbing and my mouth is dry. But it would have been worse had I not woken up to you. Bella, I'm so sor-."

I placed my hand over his mouth.

"Don't. You'll get your chance to explain later but now I want to hear what happened to you while you were gone."

He rubbed his jaw and cleared his throat before continuing.

"I don't remember much about yesterday at all. But I had gone off to get away from you and try to see if I could make some progress on the Victoria case. I should have let someone know where I had gone because things got confusing real quick. Not much was adding up…until I met him."

I waited patiently while he paused to take a drink of water that Mrs. Cope had brought up. Smiling brightly, he thanked her and she left us alone again.

"Victoria is a small part in a much bigger and more dangerous game. I didn't think it could possibly be anything this massive. You have a lot more enemies than you think, Bella. They decided to come after me once we joined together but apparently it's a man that your father had wronged a long time ago and he's out for blood. I don't want to see you hurt."

The sincerity in his eyes made me want to kiss him and assure him everything was alright. But we didn't know what was going to happen next.

"Who is it?"

"Do you recognize the name Aro Volturi?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Hey guys. I had a bit of a family emergency this week so I wasn't able to update sooner and I'm still going to try and keep up with updating at least once a week depending on how things go the next few weeks.**

I froze and slowly stood up walking towards the window. I pulled back the red curtain and watched the ripples flow across the pool. I felt rather than heard him come up behind me and wrap his arms around my waist.

"That's a name I haven't heard in a long time," I finally stated.

"Come on. Let's go get some food and you can tell me the story if you want."

We walked downstairs and Mrs. Cope had breakfast ready. I smiled gratefully and took a bite of the delicious ham omelet she knew I loved. We ate in silence and once satisfied we got changed into bathing suits and went out to the pool. I broke my number one rule and turned off my phone.

"There's really not much to say just because my dad never told me the whole story. Aro used to date my mother but as soon as my mother met my father…she left Aro and my parents eloped. I was born nine months later and my mom mysteriously went missing. My dad did everything he could to find her but everything led to a dead end. In my opinion, he killed her as vengeance. My dad was a changed man after that. He blames me for everything and it still surprises me that he even gave the business over to me. I haven't heard from him since our last blow up."

He didn't say anything. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I lay my head on his chest. I didn't realize that I'd miss him so much until I had him back and I vowed to cherish every moment. We stayed silent until the sound of my sliding glass door alerted us to someone's presence.

"Please tell me it's someone that I can kindly tell to fuck off," I muttered against his chest.

He chuckled and rubbed my back soothingly.

"It is but it looks important judging by his expression."

I sighed and pulled away turning around to see who had interrupted us. Edward wasn't lying about Jasper's face, it was an expression he saved for very serious occasions. I went into boss mode and waited for him to deliver the news.

"We found her, Victoria. Jacob is being sent in tonight to try and infiltrate. I really don't have a good feeling about this, Bella."

Normally I would brush off someone feeling like that simply due to lack of experience but Jasper was one of my best men.

"Why?"

"Jacob is great at what he does working with you. I don't think he has the knowledge and experience to really pull this off. I think we need to abort this mission and send in someone who has a better chance of succeeding."

I thought about what he said and turned to Edward. He grabbed my hand and squeezed reassuringly.

"What do you think, Edward?" I asked.

"I think Jasper's right. Why did you choose Jacob of all people?"

"He's one of the few whos face isn't well known," I replied with a shrug.

"I still have to agree with Jasper. We could have Alice and Rosalie work some magic and make him have a totally different appearance. I'm sure he has the ability to change his mannerisms as well and his southern drawl."

"Well…it really isn't a bad idea. What would you rather do, Jasper?"

He rubbed the back of his neck but stood straight.

"I'll do what needs done to protect our people, Bella. Alice and I will postpone the wedding until I get back."

I got out of the pool and shook his hand and escorted the two men inside, grabbing my robe.

"I want to catch you up on everything even though I'm sure you know most of it since you got most of the intel for me. There are some things that I want to make sure you know about first."

The three of us spent several hours discussing the case. It took so much longer with having to catch Edward up on everything but we were finally done not long after the sun had went down.

"Would you like to stay for supper?" I asked Jasper as he made his way towards the front door.

He shook his head, "No, thanks. I need to talk to Ali about this turn of events. I have a feeling she's not going to be too happy."

"I'll prepare for a visit from her," I replied.

He left and I closed the door quietly, grabbing Edward's hand and leading him to the kitchen where Mrs. Cope had dinner set up on the island. We ate the steak in silence and went up to the bedroom after having a few glasses of wine.

I got changed into a pair of boy shorts and a camisole, not even bothering to get changed in another room. Edward had already seen me naked before and I wasn't embarrassed.

As soon as I put the camisole on I felt him come up behind me and rest his hand on my hip. He spun me around, leaning in and kissing me softly. I kissed him back and ran my hands through his hair. I missed this more than I ever expected.

He moaned lowly and pressed me closer against him and I could feel his need. I pulled back once his hand started the trail toward my breast and he almost looked…hurt. I put my hands up in surrender.

"I'm not saying no, Edward. I'm saying not now. I can't tell you how happy I am to have you back but I'm not ready. You still hurt me pretty bad before you ran away."

He ran a hand through his unruly hair and led me to the bed, sitting across from me.

"I never gave you the whole story," he murmured softly and entwined our hands together.

"Riley wasn't lying about me and Victoria. We hadn't been together long but I fell for her almost immediately. I was head-over-heels in love with this woman. I thought we were going to get married, have kids, and be together forever. She played me like a fiddle and I let her. She knew who I was and what family I came from. Emmett had warned me from the beginning that she was bad news.

One day she got me to give her some information that I probably shouldn't have but it wasn't anything major. It was enough to cause her to break into my father's office and find all of the classified files, stealing them for herself. What she wanted from our family was money and possibly power. She had been hoping to find something useful to blackmail us from the files but my father has always been smart about keeping records.

She found nothing but my mom caught her trying to sneak the files back. We had already known that she stole them because she tripped the silent alarms in his office. Dad decided to allow her to take them since there wouldn't be anything beneficial to her. When she went to return them, mom confronted her. She was beyond pissed when she found out how badly I had been hurt by the betrayal.

Victoria still tried to blackmail us with petty information that was already common knowledge. She tried to get five million but dad would not back down. Finally, I officially broke up with her and she left. No one heard from her so we all assumed that she just went on with her life. But now she's back trying to get more than just money or power. She wants revenge."

I had to keep reminding myself to breathe throughout his story. He didn't look at me during the conclusion and I leaped forward capturing his lips with my own. My hands went back to his hair and our kisses turned to desperation.

I ripped his shirt off and raised my arms for him to take mine off. He obliged and we continued undressing each other in our frenzy. He kissed down my body and entered me slowly. We had both missed the connection and came together with him peppering my face with kisses while I came down from my high.

"I love you," he murmured before falling asleep.

"He said what?!" Rosalie screeched the next day while I was on the phone.

"You heard me. I just don't know if it's something he said because of the sex or if it's how he really feels. If I were a betting woman I'd say it's because of the latter."

Rosalie chuckled, "Good thing you are a betting woman. So, have you heard from Alice yet? She was pretty pissed this morning."

I groaned and put the phone on speaker so I could smack my head against the desk repeatedly. I knew that Alice would be a storm to deal but I was hoping to put it off as long as possible. As dedicated as she is to the crew, it's a whole different ballgame when it came to protecting her future husband.

"He made this decision himself, Rose. It's not like we forced him into it."

"I know, Bella. But that fact of the matter is that Edward suggested it, not that Alice knows that. She thinks the whole thing was your idea. Jasper is a big boy who can make his own decisions and he's sure been in more dangerous situations such as this in just the past few months."

"Even if we explain all of this to her she's still going to be mad and unreasonable," I said.

Rosalie agreed but had to hang up the phone once Emmett walked in the room. He wanted to take her out to breakfast so I bid her farewell.

I glanced at the clock and groaned that only a half hour had passed since Edward left. Now that he was back he had to get caught up on everything that happened when he was gone. It may not have been long but so much can happen in a short period of time. He guessed that he wouldn't be back until around dinner time.

"Isabella!"

I groaned and slowly turned my chair towards the door, adopting my best boss face. The pixie I had been expecting was standing in the doorway, face red as a tomato.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me! To Jasper!" she screeched.

I interlaced my fingers and glowered, hoping it would be enough to slow her down. Luck was not on my side.

"I did nothing to you, Alice. It's something that Jasper suggested himself that Jacob be taken off of the case and Edward had the idea to replace him with Jasper. It's really not a bad idea since Jasper's the best strategist around here."

"I don't give a shit what you say, Bella. You should not have allowed this to happen! Especially the week before our wedding," she stated in a huff.

I stood up and walked slowly towards her and I finally saw some fear in her eyes. I doubted it was enough to stop her from her rant, though.

"Stop being so fucking selfish, Alice. This is what is best for everyone in our crew. I understand that your wedding is coming up but you're just going to have to postpone it until this mission is done."

"You're not stopping my wedding, Bella."

"You're not the boss here, Mary Alice. Get the fuck out of my sight before you join the other unfortunate souls that had the honor of being murdered in my basement."

She turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I sat back in my chair and pulled out the bottle of scotch that Jake had gotten me after we pulled him from the case. Leah even came over to thank me and we didn't get along all that well.

I spent the rest of the day working on the little things that needed taken care of. Even with this big mission looming over our heads the shipments and other business had to continue. I figured Alice wouldn't be much help until everything was over and she had the rock on her finger.

I was so engrossed in my work I didn't hear when Edward stepped into the room. He placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump and punch him in the nose.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry, Edward. You should know better than to scare me like that."

He was trying to stop the blood and I handed him as many tissues as I could get my hands on. He nodded gratefully and tilted his head back.

"You know, it's better to keep your head forward," I murmured and he just glared.

After a few minutes it stopped and I handed him an ice pack which he accepted with a smile.

"How'd all the catching up go? I've tried to stay on top of everything during your absence but it was nearly impossible."

He got up and pulled me in a hug, holding me close. I rested my head against his chest and hold him as tight as he did me.

"Thank you, Bella. You've been a much bigger help than I could ever hope for."

I looked at him and kissed him, enjoying the feel of his soft lips moving slowly against mine. There was no rush to the kiss, just us enjoying each other. I pulled away and kissed his cheek.

"Bella!" Jacob yelled.

I let go of Edward who followed me down the stairs. Once we got to the foyer I saw what had startled Jacob. There was a person that I had hoped to never see again.

"Bella," the man said.

"Father. What an unpleasant surprise."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Hey guys sorry about the late update. In my defense, anatomy class and all of this stuff for nursing school has kept me crazy busy. I may not be able to update again until finals are over in two weeks. I'm going to try my best though.**

"What do I owe the pleasure?" I asked.

He sneered when he saw Edward, the fire evident in his eyes.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Not your fucking business. Now answer my question before I show you my new gun."

He huffed and crossed his arms giving me a disapproving look.

"I would like to know how you managed to get on Aro Volturi's bad side. That takes quite the talent, Isabella. I had settled all of our differences long ago."

"Excuse me? I hadn't even heard his name since your last encounter with him. It's because of _you_ that he's back in the limelight, father," I replied.

We had a stare off for quite a few seconds before he deflated slightly.

"I didn't do anything to him. Get your shit together Isabella before I have to step in again; you won't like what I do next time I come around."

"If there's a next time I'll make damn sure you lose the use of your legs," I threatened.

He walked back out the front door and I threw my hands up in frustration.

"The audacity of some people!"

Edward chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the side of my head.

"Let's go before you destroy something. We should talk to the crew and see if anything new is going on," he suggested.

I agreed happily and we went to the warehouse where there were several cars already.

"That's unusual. If something's going on they know to call you or me," I murmured.

"Unless something really bad has happened that they don't want us to know," he responded.

We quickly jumped out of the car and ran towards the building with one hand on our respective guns. I was hopeful that there wasn't a hostage situation happening but it was always a possibility. We walked in with our guns raised and the crew responded immediately with their own raised guns but once everyone realized there was no real danger we all relaxed. Well, I somewhat relaxed.

"What the fuck is going on here? You know damn well to talk to me if something has happened," I practically yelled.

Rosalie flinched at my tone and Alice looked like she was about to cry. Nearly everyone had a somber look on their face and I had a hunch that I really hoped was wrong.

"Is it about Jasper?"

Alice stormed up to me and got in my face.

"It's your fault that he's disappeared! One minute they were tracking him just fine then poof he's gone! Emmett and some of the guys went out to check out what happened but nothing was there. They left without a trace with my Jazz and it's all your fault! He hadn't even been there for two hours!"

Edward stepped between us before I could say anything. I had caught him up on the conversation between Alice and me earlier that day on the drive over. When he got in her face it was the first time I saw actual fear in her eyes.

"You will learn to be more respectful, Alice. Jasper is a big boy who can make his own decisions. We will not assume the worst has happened, maybe they just need for him to prove they can trust him. It's possible this mission is going to take a while and dangerous things could happen. You _will_ accept this and realize that it's what's best for everything."

He stayed calm through the whole explanation which made it even more menacing. I now understood how someone could fear this man.

Alice said nothing else and went to stand by Rosalie instead. I clapped my hands together to make sure I had everyone's attention even though I was pretty confident I did after that little exchange.

"Alright guys. I want everyone on even higher alert than normal until we have this over with. Embry, you and Emmett go back to where you last had a location on Jasper. Make sure there wasn't something that you missed. I want everyone else to go back to their houses for the night. I will stay here and keep an eye on things while you guys go and get some rest. We're going to need to start rotating shifts to make sure we have enough guard. Got it? Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight," I finished.

They all went and did what they were told. Alice didn't even look at me as she walked by and I grinned at Edward thankfully.

"I was about at my wit's end with that girl. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't jumped it. Probably something that I'd regret later."

He rubbed soothing circles on my back as we walked over to the computers and tried to get a read on Jasper. Luck still hadn't back to my side after waiting for a couple hours for something to show up. We went over all of the evidence that had been collected more recently to see if there was something that we had missed.

I had given up after a couple more additional hours. We had searched everything we could to try and guess where Jasper was. Even without any leads, I wasn't worried. He knew how to take care of himself even in the most dangerous situations.

"Call one of the guys to come and take over for us. I want to get home and see if dad left any information behind on Aro and his gang," I stated.

Edward nodded and did as requested. When Emmett and Rosalie showed up we left and went back to my house. I was grateful for the short drive until I saw smoke rising in the sky. Panicked, I looked to Edward who floored it.

We pulled up to my house which was engulfed in flames.

"Jacob!" I screamed.

Edward ran in without a second thought even when I yelled at him to stop. I made as many phone calls as I could while waiting for Edward to come back, hoping the flames hadn't gotten him.

Alice and a few of the guys showed up right as Edward was walking out with Jacob leaning heavily on him for support. I ran up and wrapped Jacob's free arm around my shoulders and we helped him limp to the car where he could sit down.

"Were you the only one in the house?" Edward asked.

Jake nodded and winced, attempting to look down at his leg. I grabbed a blanket from the back of the car and covered his leg.

"I'd rather not have you freak out looking at this. Edward, call the fire department. I have a feeling I know how this started."

The whole crew watched as my house burned. I couldn't stop the tears that started flowing freely without me noticing until Rosalie and Alice wrapped me up in a hug. I had to fight hard to maintain composure and right when I thought I was going to lose it the fire department showed up.

They went to work as quickly as they could but even after battling the flames for over an hour they deemed my house not safe to enter.

"What do you mean I can't enter my own house? I have important shit in there!" I screeched.

Edward rested his hands on my shoulders and started to give me an amazing massage.

"Ma'am, I understand that you are dealing with a tragedy. But there is way too much damage for anyone to enter safely without the possibility of the building collapsing. We're going to save everything we can. Now, it'd be best for you to work on finding somewhere else to stay while we finish up."

I flipped the firefighter off as Edward dragged me away, before I could do something that I might or might not regret later.

"You're staying with me. No questions and no arguing," Edward said in a tone that left no room for argument.

We went to his house in silence. I still couldn't believe what had happened today with Jasper going missing and my house burning down.

"There's going to be hell to pay for this," I stated simply.

Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed gently. I knew he would be with me no matter what I decided to do next.

Two weeks later we finally got a hit on Jasper's general location. It wasn't precise but Emmett was able to find him from the shitty directions. He reported back that Jasper seemed to be doing just fine but he still couldn't figure out what happened during those two weeks that he was missing. We all breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he was okay and Alice had almost gone back to her old self.

"So what's going on this week?" Edward asked.

"Nothing too important that you need to worry about. Just the usual shipments that have been coming and going. But there was something I wanted to talk to you and Bella about," Rosalie replied.

I nodded in encouragement for her to continue while I continued typing on the computer. The good news is that a lot of the evidence we had gathered for our current Volturi case had been at the warehouse. The bad news was that all of my major information had been burned in the fire which is what Aro wanted. We didn't have concrete proof yet that it was their doing but I was pretty confident in my assumption.

"I think we need to stop hiring new people. Normally I can tell pretty quickly if someone is trustworthy. Well, as trustworthy as is possible. But so many of the people we've been looking at recently…I just think that something fishy is going on," she finally explained.

I paused what I was doing to look at Edward. He seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.

"We could use this to our advantage," he murmured.

"We find one of the more gullible fucks and try to get him to talk," I finished.

Edward and I's relationship has definitely changed drastically ever since we rescued him. We were always together and there was no question about our loyalty to each other. I loved him and I knew he loved me just as much if not more. We hadn't talked anymore about what had happened before he left but I felt that we didn't need to. We had talked about it once he had gotten better and that was it. Hell, I couldn't even complain about our sex life with how fantastic it is.

"Bella? Bella!"

I jumped and glared at Rosalie.

"I've said your name like twenty times. What the hell were you thinking about?"

I blushed and went back to typing doing my best to ignore Edward's smirk.

"Nothing. I want you to keep an eye on what's going on with these new recruits. I'm assuming no one has heard from Jasper?"

Everyone shook their heads no and we proceeded to do research until late into the night. Glancing at Edward, I saw him eyeing me and waggling his eyebrows. I chuckled and stood up, stretching.

"We're going home for the evening. I want two of you to stay here and keep an eye on things. I don't really give a shit who. Alternate shifts every few hours or so. Call me if you need me," I stated.

Everybody said goodbye and we made our way to Edward's car hand-in-hand. Before I could open my door he pressed me against it and I could already feel his arousal.

"It's been far too long since we've had any fun," he murmured against my cheek.

I shivered and put my hands on his neck, entwining my hands in his hair.

"It hasn't even been a day," I replied capturing his lips with my own.

He groaned and pushed me harder against the door, our tongues fighting for dominance. I finally allowed him to take control when I felt his hands grip my waist. I had to fight to stay quiet when his lips trailed down my neck.

"We should get out of here before someone sees us," I murmured breathlessly.

He pouted but agreed and we made our way to his house in record time. He didn't even bother closing our car doors before throwing me over his shoulder and running upstairs. He wasted no time in taking off his own clothes before helping me with mine.

I moaned when he entered me, enjoying the feeling. Sex with Edward had always been an amazing experience that I couldn't get enough of. We came together and he rolled off, collapsing next to me.

"Wow," he said.

I chuckled and rolled over so I could lay on his chest and he rubbed soothing circles on my back.

"Thank you," he said right as I was about to fall asleep.

"For what?"

"For being here with me. For giving me a chance. And for making me the happiest guy," he finished with a kiss to my forehead.

"I love you," I replied before sleep overtook.

"I love you, too."


	13. Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Edition

 **Happy Thanksgiving guys! Since I'm going to be busy all day tomorrow with the family I decided to post a holiday chapter a little early. It's shorter than usual but who doesn't love some holiday smut? Enjoy.**

I watched the mashed potatoes fall slowly onto the table with horror. The room went deathly silent while everyone slowly turned to look at what had just happened. Alice's face went bright red but not with embarrassment. If you were dumb enough to mess up her hair, you would rue the day.

To be fair, Emmett had been trying to hit Edward who was sitting next to Alice but his aim was off. It had all happened in slow motion; him grabbing a handful of the delicious potatoes, pulling his arm back, and firing then hitting the wrong target. It had hit partly on her forehead and partly on the side of her head.

"You're going to pay for this you piece of shit," she stated through clenched teeth.

Emmett had the decency to look ashamed and slightly afraid. Alice grabbed the roll that she had just dipped in gravy from her plate and hit him square in the chest.

"Hey! I just bought him that shirt!" Rosalie yelled.

Alice had stuck her tongue out and threw a piece of turkey at the blonde who screeched and swatted it away before it could hit.

"You bitch," Rosalie said.

"Food fight!" Emmett cut in.

That's when the chaos began. Food was flying everywhere and I watched in horror as my house got food stuck in the most unexpected of places. However, I couldn't be too upset since I wouldn't be the one cleaning up the mess.

"Guys! Can you at least act like adults-," I was cut off by a grape landed squarely in my mouth.

I gagged and spit the disgusting fruit out, glaring at Edward who was crying from laughter.

"You're going down, bitch."

I grabbed one handful of mashed potatoes and another of green bean casserole, hitting Edward in the face which effectively wiped the grin off of his face.

Alice yelped and ducked under the table as another roll went flying by. I grabbed my now-empty plate and used it as a shield while Edward tried to get his revenge. I giggled at his horrible aim and dodged the next attack.

"For someone who can shoot a gun so well, you suck when it comes to something important," I stated snarkily.

"That's not what you were saying last night when I-,"

"Enough!" Mrs. Cope yelled.

We all stopped mid-throw and mid-dodge. It was comical to see everyone holding a handful of something, ready to launch at someone else, when she walked into the room.

"I am not cleaning up this mess you children made. Buckets, mops, and other cleaning supplies are in the closet by the foyer. If this room is not spotless you'll have bigger and worse things to worry about besides Aro's threat."

With that she turned around and walked out of the room. Everyone that was holding food dumped it on the table and made the trudge to the closet to grab what they needed. Once we were in the clear, I grabbed Edward's hand and snuck upstairs before anyone could see us.

"You know, you're pretty hot when you're covered in my world-famous green bean casserole," I chuckled while using a warm wash cloth to clean him off.

We helped each other wipe off all of the remaining food and shed our dirty clothes. We were left standing in our underwear and as he was reaching in the drawer for a clean pair of jeans, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him close.

"That thing you were talking about that you did last night? It was pretty amazing," I murmured, skimming my nose along the side of his jaw and down his neck, occasionally placing kisses.

His breath sped up and his hands that had been on my waist slowly trailed up until his hand was on the clasp of my bra. Once the offending piece of fabric fell to the floor he latched onto one of my nipples and I tried to stifle my moan, lest someone downstairs hear us.

"Let them hear. Then they won't interrupt us," he said so softly I almost didn't catch it.

He guided me over to the bed and dropped his boxers before climbing on top of me.

"We need to get this out of the way."

His hand traveled down to my underwear, the final piece of fabric that was in our way. I lifted my hips, happy to oblige. He wasted no time in getting them off then entering me slowly. It had only been last night since we made love but I missed it already.

We were moaning and writhing, enjoying every moment of being connected. I felt myself getting close when the door came flying open.

"Oh, gross! Naked Edward butt!" Alice screeched before slamming the door and we could faintly hear her footsteps going down the stairs.

Edward laughed but didn't stop what he was doing. It look a moment but I went back to the edge and over it with him finishing not long after.

"What a happy Thanksgiving."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **Finals are done and I'm back, guys! I'm going to start updating every week again, sometimes twice a week. Please don't hate me too much for the end of this chapter.**

 _Flashback_

" _Dammit, Isabella! Why can't you do anything right?!" he screeched while I jumped and cowered at the sudden loud tone. It seemed to be the only way I was able to talk to my dad anymore; he had to be yelling or accusing me of something._

" _What's your fucking problem this time?" I retorted, knowing I'd regret it immediately._

 _I heard his footsteps and he was in front of me in the blink of an eye and I was sprawled across the floor just as quickly. Holding my aching jaw, I glared at the man standing above me, the one that I got so many of my looks from._

 _One obvious thing about my father and I has always been that we look alike. I inherited his same build, same hair and eye color, nearly everything except for my personality. My mother was more flighty that I'd ever be but we were otherwise very similar. I looked so much like my father that the only way people knew my mother was my mother was if they asked._

 _I stood up slowly and shoved Charlie back. He tried to catch himself but ended up knocking over a vase in the process._

" _Now look at what you did you pathetic girl! That was your mother's favorite vase and you broke it! There's no way I'd ever be able to repair it!"_

 _Without much thought, I stepped forward those few steps and stomped on the shards of glass that were now everywhere. He gasped and I had to fight to stop the smirk that was wanting to make an appearance._

" _How could you be so disrespectful towards your mother?" he questioned in a heartbroken voice that surprised me. I had only been hearing words of hatred or anger for the past year-and-a-half._

" _I'm not being disrespectful towards her, dad. She's been dead for over a year and you need to learn how to move on."_

" _She is not dead, Isabella Marie Swan! You know damn good and well that she's alive, we just haven't found her yet."_

" _You honestly think that Aro would keep her alive this long? If that were the case he'd be torturing her and he'd make damn sure that we knew. But we haven't heard anything from him ever since she went missing. He killed her so act like a grown up and accept it," I retorted._

 _I heard the slap before I felt the sting. Luckily I wasn't hit hard enough to fall to the ground this time._

" _Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not polite to hit girls?" I asked while slowly drawing my gun out from the back of my pants._

" _What makes you think you even have the right to talk about your Grandma Swan? The only relationship you two had was that beef stroganoff recipe."_

" _I knew Nan better than you think and I know she'd be disappointed by what a pathetic loser her son has become."_

 _He raised a hand to strike me a third time but I had my gun pulled out and aimed before he was able to make the move._

" _Hit me one more fucking time and I'll blow your damn head off you piece of shit. We used to be a lot closer before mom disappeared and you went crazy. Remember the fun times we used to have?"_

 _He lowered his hand slowly while keeping one eye on me and the other on the gun I had pointed at him. Once they were lowered by his sides he shrugged._

" _That was before my whole reason for living was taken away from me. I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye," he replied with tears gathering in his eyes._

" _Boo fucking hoo. I used to have sympathy for you before you started hitting me and treating me like a piece of rotten meat. It's a good thing you gave me the authority yesterday to run this empire you created because, as of now, you are officially done. I know the other members wouldn't be very happy to hear about the previous mob boss hitting women."_

" _I haven't signed the contract yet, Isabella. Until I do, you will respect me as an insubordinate," he replied._

 _I chuckled darkly and cocked my gun, watching for a reaction. I was slightly disappointed when I only got his poker face._

" _Sign the contract and leave."_

" _And if I don't?" he questioned._

" _Then I shoot, forage your signature, and leave Jacob to clean up the mess. He doesn't appreciate having to be part of the clean-up crew but I think he'd have some satisfaction if it was your blood."_

 _We continued to stare at each other for a good several seconds before he slowly made his way over to the desk and pulled out a pen. The document was signed and he was out the door before the ink even dried._

"Bella? You okay over there?" Rosalie interrupted my thoughts.

"Sorry. You know how I get sometimes. What were you saying about Jasper?"

Rosalie shifted her eyes to Emmett who rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"What? What's wrong? He's not injured, is he?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just…we have reason to believe that he started the house fire," Emmett informed while Rosalie busied herself on the computer.

"And what reasoning is this? Jasper wouldn't purposely try to injure one of us."

"Well, Emmett hacked into one of the computers. There were several documents about the fire and Jasper's name was mentioned several times. There's even a scanned copy of some contract concerning the fire that he signed."

"Let me see."

She handed me the paper which I scanned over quickly. My eyes were drawn automatically to where Rosalie had highlighted Jasper's name. His signature is what raised my blood pressure and Emmett shrunk back in fear.

"Let's go."

We all drove to Edward's house, slightly disappointed that he wasn't home. I didn't have time to call him and get everyone together for what I wanted to do. I had the element of surprise and I wanted to hold onto that for as long as I could.

We all got dressed in black and made our way back out to the jeep. I shook my head when Emmett tried to get into the driver's seat and he begrudgingly went to the back while Rosalie took the passenger side.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked after we had driven a few miles.

"We're taking care of this Jasper problem and find out what's going on. I know we said to do what he has to but…"

No one responded and we rode in silence. After my phone had rang for the third time I threw it in backseat. I was focused and nothing would distract me.

We finally pulled up to a small shack and checked for traps. Seeing nothing that wasn't easily disabled, I knocked on the front door with my foot tapping impatiently.

Finally, it opened ever so slowly and I drew my gun behind my back.

"Bella? What are you doing here?"

"Alice?! What are _you_ doing here?"

She shrunk back and tried to close the door but I put my foot in before she could. I threw the door back open and she tried to scurry away but I grabbed her arm before she could get too far.

"You better do some explaining and you better do it quick. We know that this is where Jasper has been staying."

"I had to see him, Bella! He doesn't know I'm here yet."

"Well, where the hell is he?"

"Right behind you, actually," Jasper responded coolly.

I kept my gun drawn and turned towards him.

"I figured you'd be around sooner or later. I'm kind of surprised it took you guys this long to figure out I started that fire. Don't get too pissy until I explain," he stated.

"I ought to shoot you in the kneecap for pulling this kind of stunt. You put all of us in danger you prick!" I yelled.

He shrugged and kept an eye trained on the gun I had pointed at him.

"I made it appear as if you were all in danger. I waited for a moment where I knew everyone would be out and security would be switching shifts so no one could be injured. It was the only way for them to see that I was serious about joining."

"And how serious are you about joining them, Jasper?" Emmett asked quietly.

Alice had slowly been inching her way towards Jasper and she was finally close enough to touch him. She grabbed his hand and he yanked it away.

"You're all idiots for coming here, especially you Mary Alice. You need to get over this desperation for me and grow up. Hell, maybe you should even move on," he finished.

"What are you saying, Jasper? That you're breaking up with me?"

He thought for a moment then adorned a mischevious grin that unsettled me.

"Yes, I'm breaking up with you. Thank God we didn't get married before this whole fiasco. You know how they say absence makes the heart grow fonder? Well, I realized that I actually don't need to put up with your petty needy bullshit when there's so many other women around here throwing themselves at me. They're independent enough that I don't have to constantly worry about them, either. Oh, and as to your question, Emmett. I'm devoted one hundred percent to this company."

"Which company are you referring to specifically, Jasper?" Rose asked.

"Why, Aro's of course. They know how to actually run a mob without letting emotions get in the way. If you had done things right, Bella, you wouldn't have pathetically fallen in love with that piece of shit named Edward. That's the problem with you people, you let your emotions rule everything. Once you can detach yourself it makes getting work done a whole lot easier."

"You've turned into a fucking sociopath. This isn't the Jasper we all know," I responded.

His grin reappeared and he moved quickly grabbing my gun and pointing it back at me. I had been so appalled by his story that I allowed myself to be distracted with the new information.

"No, that Jasper left after the first week of being here. I prefer to think of myself as 'new' and 'improved.' Aro has taught me well."

In my peripheral vision I saw Emmett inching his way towards Jasper and he was able to wrestle Jasper to the ground but in the process the gun was fired and we saw blood hit the wall.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 **Hey, guys. I ask that you stay with me through the next couple of chapters, I promise everything will be explained soon. I even updated quickly since I haven't been able to as much as I'd like the past couple of months.**

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

I rubbed my eyes and glared at the machine that was constantly making that annoying beeping sound. I know it was monitoring her heart beat but couldn't it do it not as obnoxiously?

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

Frustrated, I walked out of the hospital room and into the waiting room where Edward and Emmett were seated.

"How's she doing?" Emmett asked.

I sighed and sat next to him, grabbing his hand and rubbing soothing circles.

"She's stable. The bullet just grazed the side of her head but that's why she lost so much blood. The doctors said she'll be fine but she's pretty drugged up right now. Why don't you go in to see her yourself, Em?"

He scrubbed his face nervously and the pitiful look was enough to tug at my heart strings.

"I can't stand to see her like that, Bella. If I hadn't tried to get the gun away from Jasper-."

"Then more of us would be injured. She'd be there for you if the situation was reversed, so get your sorry butt in there and be with the love of your life."

He didn't need to be told twice. Once he was gone, Edward wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head.

"I almost lost you today," he murmured against my hair.

I chuckled and snuggled close.

"You almost lose me every day, Edward. It's part of this business."

He didn't reply, instead rubbing circles on my back.

* * *

I must have fallen asleep because next thing I know there's shouting and the sound of glass breaking. I bolt upright and glare at Emmett who was yelling at Rosalie's doctor.

"That can't be right! Do the tests again!"

"Sir, please calm down. We have other patients trying to get some sleep and recover just like your girlfriend in there. We did the urine test and the blood test and they were both positive. You realize this isn't the end of the world?" the doctor replied.

Emmett was getting ready to hit the older man but Edward reached him and put a calming hand on Emmett's arm before he could.

"We really don't need to deal with assault charges on top of everything else. What's going on over here?" Edward asked.

The doctor shrugged.

"Doctor patient confidentiality," was his only reply before walking away.

Edward turned to Emmett, waiting for an explanation while I walked up and joined the two.

"Can you believe that idiot says that Rosie is pregnant? I can't even have kids!"

"What do you mean you can't have kids?" I asked.

"I mean that I'm shooting blanks. I thought that was pretty self-explanatory. Plus, Rose is on birth control anyway so there's no way that she…unless…"

He slowly turned towards the door and had a frown etched deep on his face.

"Don't go there until you have the full story, Emmett. Miracles happen, you know," Edward said.

Emmett didn't reply, instead walking down the hall with his hands in pockets. He disappeared around the corner with Edward attempting to follow.

"Don't, Edward. Give him some time to clear his head. You know what this could mean for him, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I just don't want to see him get hurt."

"C'mon. Let's get out of here."

We walked out to the jeep hand-in-hand after having left a note with the receptionist to give to Emmett telling him where we were going.

When we pulled up to the warehouse, I groaned when I saw the car I hoped to never see again. Edward's hand was clasped around mine and we walked inside together.

"Why do you keep coming back in my life?" I asked.

Charlie chuckled and turned around with a peaceful look on his face. My guard was up immediately, it had been a long time since I'd seen that expression.

"I got the information that's going to help you solve this case."

I snorted and released Edward's hand, walking closer to my father.

"And what makes you think I'd want your help?"

"Honey, your mother is alive. I got a picture in the mail the other day. She's as beautiful as she was the day I met her…and Aro is willing to make a trade for us to get her back."

By the time he had finished speaking my blood turned cold. There was no way my mother still alive all these years later. Aro wouldn't have kept her alive unless he knew that she'd be of use to him some day.

"What kind of trade is that? How do you know that he's not just messing with you?" Edward questioned.

Charlie glared at the younger man who fell silent.

"He wants Bella to meet him face-to-face and sign a contract. We get Renee back and he gets to keep Jasper and any heir that may come from Jasper."

"Heir? How the hell is there an heir when Alice and Jasper aren't even together anymore? What does this even have to do with me?" I retorted.

Charlie chuckled darkly and his peaceful expression had been replaced by a mix of hatred and wonder.

"Rumor has it that Jasper hadn't been as faithful to Alice as we would have been lead to believe. He's been naughty the past several months."

"Could you please get to the fucking chase? I don't have time for all of the mysterious bullshit," I almost yelled frustratingly.

"That beautiful girl with black hair that Jacob has been seeing? I don't remember her name off of the top of my head but she hasn't been faithful to her man either."

I had to fight to control my emotions and not let him see the kind of effect this was having on me.

"Leah wouldn't cheat on Jacob just like Jasper would never cheat on Alice, even if he is being a stubborn asshole that I'd love to choke the life out of. Actually, why haven't I done that yet? Edward, make a note to add to my to-do list tomorrow."

He laughed but turned serious again in a matter of seconds.

"This is a great cock-and-bull story, Charlie, but you haven't given us proof on any of this. Given your track record, we have no reason to believe you," Edward said.

"Which is why I brought proof with me. Did you know that you can get a paternity test while the mother is still pregnant? I sure didn't but I have the results."

I snatched the paper that he had pulled out of his jacket and read it quickly. I felt a little faint reading the results, that Leah was pregnant with Jasper's child. The shocking part was the fact that she had never mentioned anything to us and that no one had noticed.

"She's not very far along. Just enough that she's starting to show, actually," Charlie provided.

"So, you want me to meet Aro and sign a contract saying he can have Jasper and Leah's baby? There's no way I'm doing this, it's absolutely nuts!"

Charlie ran towards me and pinned me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. Edward moved forward to attempt to help but once Charlie held the gun against my head he backed off.

"That's what I thought, dear boy. Bella, honey, you _will_ be meeting Aro tomorrow and you will sign this contact to get your mother back. I'll do everything in my power to make your life a living hell if you don't. So, it's your choice, really. Go and sign the contract or suffer the consequences. It's as simple as that."

Once I got my breath back, I shoved Charlie off of me and stood up.

"That's the cute part about this whole ordeal, Charlie. You already have made my life a living hell, so there's really not much more you can do. You may have the resources but I have more. You may have the men but I still have more. You stripped yourself of everything useful once you signed your soul away. Now get the hell out of here," I seethed.

"Mark my words, Bella. If you don't do this, you're going to regret it."

He walked out the door and I plopped down in the chair at my desk.

"Why can't we ever get a dull moment? I'd absolutely love a dull moment right about now," I muttered right before placing my head in my hands.

"There's got to be something more to this story just like there has to be more to the Rosalie being pregnant story. We need to do some investigating before we decide anything," Edward stated.

"I know we do. We need to do this before Aro wants to meet tomorrow. You go talk to Jacob and I'll talk to Leah."

We parted ways and I showed up to Leah's house unannounced. Technically, it was Leah and Jacob's house but we'd have to see how long that lasts.

"Bella! What an unexpected surprise."

"Cut the shit, Leah," I said before walking through the door and straight to the kitchen.

"How long have you known about the pregnancy and who's the father?" I asked.

She gulped and looked away, confirming the suspicion that she was pregnant. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"I've known for a few weeks now…we didn't want to tell anyone yet. Until we knew that the pregnancy would stick, my family has a history of miscarriages."

"That's one question answered. Now, who is the father? And don't even try to lie, Leah. I just had a conversation that could make or break you."

She looked confused and shook her head before answering.

"Jacob of course. Who else would it be?"

I looked at her for several minutes, until she started squirming uncomfortably. I felt that her answer was genuine and I blew out a relieved breath.

"There's no possibility that it's Jasper's?"

She spit out the drink of water she had taken and coughed. I rushed over and patted her back until she was fine again.

"I don't even like that prick, why the fuck would I have sex with him? Plus, I thought he and Alice were together."

I didn't bother correcting her on that last part of the statement.

"Thanks, Leah. I want you and Jacob to have extra protection for a while, so I'm sending over a few guys. I'll see you around."

I left before she could ask any more questions and called Edward.

"He told you the same thing? Yeah, I believed her. Her response was genuine. Yeah, I'm already planning on sending over a few guys to keep an eye on the place. The meeting with Aro tomorrow sure will be interesting. I love you, too. I'll see you soon."

I got in the car and made my way back to the warehouse. I hoped I had enough time to figure out who was lying.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Thank you all for the fantastic reviews! So many things are coming together in this chapter, but it'll still be a few chapters before everything is explained. I'm hoping to get at least five more chapters in this story. Again, thank you for reading.**

"For the last time, I'm not wearing a damn wire," I retorted sharply.

Edward sighed in annoyance and glared at me. Emmett was doing his best to stay out of the argument but it would only be a matter of time.

"How else are we supposed to know that you're safe? You're not going into this blind."

"No shit? You mean I should go into this meeting knowing absolutely nothing of what I'm doing? Oh, I bet I shouldn't go into this without a weapon either!"

Emmett chuckled at my sassy tone and I glared, making him silent.

"You know what I mean, stop being a bitch and protect yourself," Edward stated.

I huffed and crossed my arms. Ever since we had completed our investigation and got as many facts straight as we could, he started freaking out over every little thing much to my annoyance. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without him worrying.

"I'll have my earpiece that looks like an earring. It has an invisible wire that'll snake into my ear so I have communication with you guys. If I wore a wire, they'd know immediately that I'm out to get them, not that they don't already think that. The pen I'm going to take with me has a recorder in it. Once we get the information we need, we'll have an anonymous source take it to the police. Now, calm the fuck down and give me a kiss before I go."

Edward sighed but listened to my request. His arms wrapped around my waist and when his lips met mine, I could feel the sparks flying between us. Even after this long, I don't think I could ever get used to the amazing feeling it gives.

"Let's go, Bells. We're burning daylight," Emmett butt in.

I groaned and reluctantly pulled away.

"So now you decide to speak up," I mutter while walking towards the doorway.

He chuckled while holding the door open and I waved to Edward, who waved back with a worried look on his face.

"I love you," he said right before my car door had closed.

I mouthed the words back and before I knew it, we were on our way to the location. Aro wanted to meet at one of the local hotels in a private conference room I assumed he'd have bugged. I went over the plan with Emmett again before we pulled into the parking lot.

"You know I'll be right down this alley. If you need an emergency get away, light that lighter. It will light, but we'll also get the message that you need an escape. You're going to do great, Bells. Even with all of the information we could possibly be getting, make sure you keep your safety a priority. It's a good thing that you made Edward stay behind at the warehouse, he'd just be in the way," Emmett said.

I smiled and hugged him close, knowing it was possible this was the last time I'd see him.

"If anything happens to me, let Edward and Rosie know I love them."

He nodded and with one final goodbye, I made my way to the hotel. I followed the directions I was given, bypassing the front desk and making my way to the second conference room on the right side. I knocked three times and entered, closing the door behind me.

In front of me were only three people. Aro, whom I recognized from his pictures at the head of the table. Felix, his right-hand man who was known for shooting first then not bothering to ask questions later. Lastly, there was Jasper. He kept his expression passive but I thought I saw a flicker of emotion I couldn't distinguish flash in his eyes before they turned to stone.

"Ah, Bella. It's so good to finally meet you," Aro said in a sickly sweet voice.

He stood and walked towards me, embracing my hand with both of his own. The combination of his creepy smile and cold hands caused a chill to run down my back.

"Please, sit. I've been looking forward to this for a while know," he continued.

I sat across from his empty seat, waiting for him to sit back down. It was hard to miss the way that Felix would move, almost hovering anytime Aro did anything. It was also hard to miss the thick tension in the air. I took a deep breath, not letting the seriousness of the situation get to me.

"You know why we're here, Aro. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" I questioned.

He giggled, yes giggled, in a high pitched voice that almost sounded like a child. He rubbed his hands together and his smile returned, bigger than before.

"Ah, Bella. Do you have no patience? I was hoping we could take the time to chat and get to know each other, but if you'd like to proceed with business then we shall."

I nodded and declined the cup of water offered by Felix. Aro looked disappointed by my refusal but he didn't push the subject.

"I assume that you have read the contract. The basics include me gaining the rights of Jasper and his current child growing in Leah Clearwater. In return, you shall get your mother. It's simple, really."

I quirked an eyebrow and interlaced my fingers on top of the table.

"I'm afraid that nothing is ever simple with you, Aro. You forgot to mention the clause that states if my mother does not sign away her rights to my crew, they would go to you. Since she was kidnapped so long ago, she never officially gave up the rights, am I correct?"

He grinned and giggled again, an almost feral expression adorning his face.

"I'm glad you did your research, my dear Bella. Strike that clause, Felix. That was more of a test to make sure that you did your homework and you passed! Now that I know that you're intelligent, I'd love to do business with you. Are you ready to sign?"

I shook my head and leaned further back in my chair, aware of the coolness of my gun resting against my back.

"I'm afraid not. Since I did my homework on that, I figured why not look into a few other things? Like the fact that you have no proof of my mother still being alive and the simple fact that Jasper is not the father of Leah's child."

Anger flashed in Aro's eyes and he paused, gathering his thoughts.

"Of course this child is sired by the man sitting on my left. He showed me the proof himself. Felix," Aro replied whilst snapping his fingers.

Felix pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket, which he handed to me. I scanned the contract and snorted once I had finished.

"He signed a contract stating that he's the father? What is it with you guys and contracts? Should I get a contract with the woman who does my Brazilian waxes, too? This isn't proof of anything."

Aro sat up straighter and his smile disappeared, being replaced with a grimace. The anger that had ebbed away came back full force.

"I do not appreciate your sarcasm, Bella. I'd prefer to keep this meeting professional, yes?"

"You still haven't addressed the part about my mother allegedly being alive."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and motioned to Felix. I tried to catch their whispered conversation but was unsuccessful. Once they were finished, Felix stepped out of the conference room and we waited in silence before he came back.

"Maybe you should cut down on the sarcasm, Bells. We're trying to stay on his good side," Emmett's voice rang clearly in my ear.

I didn't bother replying. Felix returned moments later with a woman in tow.

"Mom?" I asked in a small voice.

She grinned and opened her arms, begging me to come close and give her a hug. Right as I stood up, I noticed something was wrong.

"Nice try, Aro. My mother had brown eyes and this woman has green. You really need to step up your game if you're going to try and fool me."

The grin returned and he clapped, clearly giddy.

"My, you are passing all of our tests, Bella. I'm very proud of you," he replied.

I had to fight to not roll my eyes. The actress left and I took my seat again.

"Even though this contract won't be happening, I'm curious as to what you'd offer as a trade for what you believe to be Jasper's child."

Aro's expression fell and slowly, the feral look returned.

"This contract will be signed before you leave this room, Bella. That child shall be _mine_ ," he stated in a dark tone.

I crossed my arms and mustered up the look I gave my crew that made them cower in fear.

"I didn't get to where I am by being bossed around by pathetic men like you, Aro. Even if I signed the contract, it would be moot seeing as how Jasper isn't the father like I stated before."

Aro slammed his hand on the table and Felix jumped forward, reaching for his gun. Once Aro realized what Felix was doing, he raised the hand he had slammed and Felix stepped back.

"Let's not do anything rash. Bella, what proof do you have that Jasper is not the father?"

I pulled out the paternity test and handed it to Felix, who took it to his boss. Aro scanned the paper quickly and his dark glower was turned to Jasper.

"What, did you expect that I wouldn't find out? You thought you could pull a trick like this on me? I ought to kill you right here and now!" Aro shouted.

Felix again reached for his gun, but didn't draw it without being told. When Aro didn't make the command, he moved his hand away almost disappointedly.

I reached in my pocket and before I knew it, Felix had his gun drawn and pointed at me with his finger ready on the trigger.

"I think it's time you get laid, Felix with how strung up you seem to be today. Is it suddenly against the law for a woman to smoke a cigarette?" I questioned while pulling out the pack.

Aro's giggled returned and he motioned Felix towards me. He obliged, lighting the cigarette for me.

"I can see that this meeting was a waste of time. However, it was very nice to meet you, Bella. Let's keep in touch, I'm sure we'd be very good together. Now, if you excuse me, I have some insubordinates that need taken care of."

The three men stood up and each shook my hand, Jasper last. I saw the tinge of fear in his eyes but I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for him. He had done this to himself.

I walked back out to the jeep and Emmett held the door open for me.

"You did great in there, Bella! Although, I thought Aro was going to take your head off once you started getting snarky…"

He continued to ramble on the drive back to my house. When I was convinced that he was distracted by his own musings, I pulled out the note that Jasper had slipped me when I shook his hand.

 _Your plan worked. They now believe that I'm on their side. Please tell Alice that I love her._

 _-J_


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"I'm telling you, it's a miracle."

"Run the tests again!"

Edward put a reassuring hand on Emmett's bicep to calm the large man down. It took a few seconds before we could see him start to relax.

"You know he's just the messenger, Em. Thank you, doctor. I'm sure you're busy with other patients," Edward stated.

The doctor nodded and smiled gratefully, leaving without having to be asked twice. Emmett sat in the chair with his head in his hands and he groaned.

"Emmett, snap out of it you idiot. Good news is, Rosie didn't cheat on you. Better news is the fact that you're going to be a dad so man up and act like it," I stated aggressively.

He jumped at my sudden loud tone but didn't respond, instead looking towards Rosalie's room again.

She had been in a coma for a couple of days before waking up with no apparent complications. Emmett was there when the doctor told her the news and she started crying tears of joy, saying that the two of them would make wonderful parents. I think Emmett had them run the paternity test three more times before Edward stepped in.

I rested a hand on Edward's shoulder who got up and walked out to the parking with me without having to say anything. We were both worried about Emmett now that we knew Rosalie would be okay.

"I think it's time to take our relationship to the next level," Edward stated simply.

I stopped walking and turned towards him slowly. We hadn't talked about our relationship that much with everything going on but I assumed that he'd eventually want to get married. Apparently that eventually is now.

"Are you talking about…?"

He grinned and nodded, squeezing my hand and pulling me towards the car.

"C'mon. We can talk about it over a nice picnic."

We drove to the meadow where we had that magical date night that now seemed like was decades ago. So much had happened between then and now.

He grabbed the picnic basket and we made the short trek to the meadow. I couldn't stop my smile, the place was simply beautiful. Edward picked the nearest wildflower and stuck it behind my ear, his hand lingering for a few seconds.

He leaned in and kissed me softly, not rushed like right before I met Aro. He set the blanket on the ground and we cuddled for a while before he pulled out a couple of sandwiches, grapes, chips, and champagne. We sat in silence, enjoying the food and each other's company before Edward broke the silence.

"I love you, Bella. No, I'm _in_ love with you. I never thought that I could feel this way about someone…and I can't say that I regret pissing you off for those several months. If I hadn't then I wouldn't have met you and become the happiest man on earth. Although, there is one thing that could make me happier…"

He stood us both up then kneeled on one knee right after pulling a small jewelry box out of his pocket. Tears welled up in my eyes and I smiled.

"Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Of course I will!" I screeched.

He put the ring on my finger and the next thing I knew, I was being picked up off of the ground and spun around a few times before he set me back down and kissed me passionately. I giggled at his antics and kissed the tip of his nose.

"I love you, Edward Masen."

"I love you more, Isabella."

* * *

"Are you sure this isn't too fast? I'm not rushing into things?" I asked Rosalie who smacked me across the back of my head.

"It's been one week since he proposed in that meadow and the fact that you two were able to put this wedding together so fast is amazing by itself. Now, stop second-guessing yourself and let's get you into that dress."

Rosalie had healed quickly after she woke up. She was discharged only a couple of days later and she went home with Emmett, although they were having issues. He still refused to believe that she didn't cheat on him and they were, in fact, having a miracle baby.

"Is he any better?" I asked while Rosalie laced up the back of my dress.

She shrugged and gave me a look that made me stop asking questions.

"Let's talk about you and the fact that it's your wedding day. Where's Alice?"

I sighed and tucked a stray hair back into my flowery bun.

"She's still pissed at the fact that I'm getting married. She knows the truth about Jasper now, though. We think it's only going to take one more month before we have enough information to shut Aro down. I'm surprised that he hasn't tried to contact me with another business proposal, he seemed so eager."

"It'd be nice if he did come to you since that'd give us the chance to get more information personally. At least he didn't kill Jasper. The punishment he got was enough," Rosalie said.

I shivered at the memory. Jasper had sent a coded letter to Jacob about what Aro had done to him but he also told us not to worry. Compared to things he had gone through before, this was nothing. He also made a joke about coping well to missing one of his pinkies.

"Ladies, it's show time! Alice just finished setting up all of the flowers and she wanted me to give you the bouquet," Leah said.

I happily accepted the white, pink, and red carnation bouquet. Carnations were easily my favorite flower. Rosalie also accepted her smaller bouquet of pink roses. Leah left as quickly as she came and Rose and I made our way downstairs.

Edward and I decided to host the wedding in his backyard since it was so large.

The music began and Rosalie made her way down the aisle by herself. I was shaking with nerves, glad to have Emmett's comforting hand wrapped around my arm.

"Bella, calm down. You've been shot at before and the idiot standing at the other end of this aisle is what's getting you nervous? Get it together, woman."

I laughed at his tone, grateful for the slight distraction.

Due to obvious reasons, I chose to not have my father walk me down the aisle. With Emmett being my best male friend I asked if he'd give me away. He'll deny it, but I swear I saw a couple tears fall when I asked.

We waited for Alice to make her way down the aisle before the bridal march began and we walked out to all of our friends and family.

I looked around at the beauty for a couple of seconds before my eyes landed on the love of my life. His expression was one of absolute adoration and disbelief. He deftly wiped away the couple of tears that fell. It was a good thing, too. I had told him if he didn't cry when I walked down the aisle I was turning around and starting again.

We made our way to our destination, Emmett handing me over to my almost-husband. After the men said their pieces, the pastor began and before long we were saying 'I do' and kissing in front of everyone. Emmett even wolf-whistled.

We all made our way to one of the fancier hotels in town, having rented out the ballroom for the reception. We had all eaten and were having a blast on the dance floor when Edward's face went from joyous to sour. I was about to ask what happened when I looked over and saw what he was looking at.

Aro was with Felix who was holding a silver-wrapped present. Aro had his signature creepy smile and he waved once he spotted me.

Edward wrapped a protective arm around me while the two made their way over.

"Isabella," he drew my name out.

Aro picked up my hand and kissed the back of it lightly, turning to shake hands with Edward.

"This is the infamous Edward Masen that I've heard so much about. It's a pleasure to meet the new husband of my dear Isabella. Although, I'm a bit saddened that I did not receive an invitation to this wonderful affair."

I picked an invisible piece of lint off of my dress.

"I apologize, Aro. It was such a last minute thing that we planned this whole ordeal in a week. I could have sworn that we sent you an invite," I lied.

His frown turned back into that grin and he shook his head, laughing.

"Oh, Bella, I knew that you couldn't have possibly forgotten about your favorite business partner! Let's not talk of business, yes? We must simply enjoy ourselves."

I nodded and Aro went with his shadow to the buffet table. I tried to not let their arrival ruin my fun, but it did damper it slightly. It seemed like everywhere I went I could feel a pair of eyes watching me.

"Bella, love, it's nearly eleven. We need to head to the airport," Edward interrupted my musings.

I shook my head, trying to turn my focus to my husband.

"Airport? We're supposed to stay close just in case. You know that."

Before he could respond, Alice showed up and shoved us towards the limo.

"We already have everything taken care of, Bella. Now it's your turn to go out and have a good time. We'll call you if an emergency happens or if anything else goes wrong. Now go before you miss your flight."

I didn't have time to argue before I was in the limo and we were driving away from the hotel. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, turning towards Edward.

"I thought we were spending the night here, seeing as how it's a hotel and all."

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around me, nuzzling my neck.

"That's for all of the drunk people who won't be able to make it home tonight. Now stop asking questions and enjoy the ride."

I did as he said and was asleep before long.

"Bella. Bella! Wake up."

I startled awake and punched the owner of the voice squarely in the face. He grunted in pain and tried to plug his nose to stop the bleeding.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Edward! You startled me and-."

He held up a hand and I stopped talking. He pulled some ice out of the bucket we had the bottle of champagne and wrapped it in a handkerchief. I held it against his nose while he grimaced.

"I'm sorry, babe. You should know not to be that close when you're waking me up."

He chuckled and grabbed the handkerchief from me.

"It's alright, love. However, I was planning on pounding you during this honeymoon instead of the other way around."

I blushed bright red and made my way out of the limo as fast as I could. We made our way through security, I changed into a more comfortable dress, and before I knew it we were on our way to the surprise destination.

Edward refused to tell me where we were going no matter how much I begged.

"No, Bella. I don't care if you say you'll 'suck my dick so good,' I'm not telling."

I pouted and we laughed at the strange looks that people were giving us. The things I had been offering were sometimes utterly ridiculous while the others were rather plausible.

"Flight A-102 to Hawaii will be landing soon. As you can see the pilot has-."

I drowned out the rest of what the flight attendant had said as soon as I heard the word Hawaii.

"You know I love a good island trip," I said.

Edward grinned and pulled me in for a chaste kiss before we got up and made our way out to the sunshine.


	18. Christmas

Christmas Special

 **Merry Christmas everyone! This chapter is like the Thanksgiving chapter in the way that it doesn't have much to do with the main story. It's short and for your entertainment. So, read, relax, and enjoy the holidays.**

"I swear if you guys make nearly as much of a mess as you did on Thanksgiving I'm going to kick your…,"

Mrs. Cope's voice faded to background as I turned my attention to Edward. The beautiful specimen of a man had been real quiet lately, hiding something from me. I was sure he wasn't cheating, since I'd kill him in his sleep without a second thought. Or I'd castrate him and…anyway.

I was getting carried away with my thoughts. I was hoping that he had been quiet and distant because of a Christmas present he was planning to give me.

"Good God I'm going to strap something to her that'll shock her every time she zones out like this. Bella!" Rosalie screeched.

I jumped and glared at my best friend.

"What's your problem, blondie?"

She grabbed and roll and went to throw it at me but Mrs. Cope saw what was going on and put an end to it quickly by hitting Rosalie with a wooden spoon.

Rosalie rubbed the sore spot, grumbling. Emmett chortled and soon everyone was joining in the laughter. Rosalie kept watching Mrs. Cope for an opportune time to throw food but she was under careful surveillance. Soon, we had all finished dinner and made our way over to the Christmas tree which you could barely see because of all of the presents.

"Me first!" Alice yelled excitedly.

She leaped forward and grabbed a present that had gaudy awful pink wrapping paper. Edward smirked at Jasper who attempted to look excited. He unwrapped his present and his somber look quickly changed to happy.

He held up a Swiss army knife that looked more complicated than the one he currently had.

"How…?"

Alice chuckled and kissed him on the cheek.

"I know a guy. Now shut up and enjoy it."

We all continued handing out presents until the pile was empty and everyone left to go home. I had given Edward a new Kevlar vest and an address to the best animal shelter in town since he had been wanting to get a new puppy for a while.

Slightly disappointed that I hadn't received anything, I made my way upstairs. About halfway to the top I felt Edward's warm hand wrap around mine.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" he questioned in that sexy bedroom voice.

I had to fight myself to not give in to his advances.

"To bed. Why?"

"Come on. I've got something I want to show you."

We made our way to his car and we drove a half mile down the road before stopping in front of a very large house that I had never seen before.

"What's this?" I asked.

Edward grinned and held up a set of keys, jingling them.

"Merry Christmas, baby. I figured that you'd still want to live together, but I had a house built that's for both of us…everyone pitched in to make this the best Christmas present."

Tears welled up in my eyes and I crossed the center console, kneeling on his lap. We looked into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds before I kissed him passionately.

"Honey, wouldn't you rather move this to the new house? It needs a good christening after all."

I chuckled, my hands twining into the hair at the nape of his neck.

"That's where we can have round two."


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 **I'm so sorry that I've fallen off the face of the planet the past couple of months. A lot has been going on between several sick family members and my computer finally quit working. I got a new laptop today so I can start updating again and I hope everything goes well so I can finish this story. Thank you guys for everything.**

 **I even added a lemon to make up for lost time.**

"Are you sure that we have to go back?" I asked, pouting.

Edward chuckled and kissed the tip of my nose.

"Unfortunately we have to. Duty calls and all of that bullshit."

We had spent the past couple weeks in near-perfect bliss. It would have been perfect if Rosalie hadn't had to call me to yell at Emmett again. He had gone on a rampage a week into the two of them going home. He accused her of cheating even with the paternity results in his hands. She smacked him and left, crying.

After she caught me up on everything, and apologizing for interrupting the honeymoon, I called Emmett and gave him a piece of my mind.

"Why are you calling me, Bells? Aren't you supposed to be getting boned by my boss or some shit?"

I bit my tongue to stop myself from making a smart retort. I was calling him for a reason and I didn't want to get off subject.

"What did you say to Rosalie?"

He sighed and I could almost picture him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, Bella. I've thought for the past several years that I couldn't have kids and I had just accepted that last year. Then I met Rosalie and started having dreams about little copies of ourselves running around the house.

"I woke up crying a couple of times knowing I couldn't give that to her. I talked to her about it, and do you know what she said, Bella? She said that she loved me no matter what and we'd find a way to become parents one way or another. She's been amazing through everything and I was so scared that…"

"You were scared that she would leave you when she found out that you couldn't have kids," I finished for him.

He hummed in agreement and it was silent for a minute.

"I know I keep fucking this up, Bella. I don't know how to make this right and apologize for being such a giant douche. I was able to give her what we both wanted, albeit earlier than expected, and I can't let myself enjoy it. The doctors even said it's possible that the antibiotics she took for strep throat could have rendered her birth control ineffective."

"Sounds like you two were destined to have kids, eh?"

He laughed but became somber again quickly.

"How do I fix this, Bella? You're her best friend, you must have an idea of what to do."

"Emmett, this isn't something I can help you with. You made your bed and now you have to lie in it. You know Rosie as well as I do, and I know you'll think of something to get on her good side again. Just make sure that if she wakes you up at three in the morning because she's craving pickles and peanut butter that you take your happy ass to the store and get it for her."

"Thanks, Bella. You've helped me more than you know. Now go have amazing sex with your new husband and try not to break any headboards."

"Oh, shut up. Bye, Em."

I hung up and felt Edward's arms wrap around my waist.

"Did I hear something about amazing sex with your new husband? Because I can definitely help you with that part."

I turned my head to make a smart remark but his lips captured mine before I could. He moved our mouths slowly before slipping his tongue into my mouth. I moaned and turned so I could face him.

He kissed my lips again before trailing from my mouth to my jaw and slowly down my neck to my collarbone. I shivered in delight when one of his hands went from my waist to my breast.

"God, you respond to easily to my touch. I can't get enough of you," he murmured softly when his mouth made its way to my ear. He nibbled on my earlobe and I grabbed his arm to stop his movements.

"You've had plenty of fun making me putty in your hands the past couple of days. Now it's my turn."

I guided him over to the bed so the back of his knees were resting against it. I kissed his jaw as I undid the button on his khakis and slowly pushed them until they found to the ground. I wasted no time in doing the same to his boxers.

I pushed him so he was sitting on the bed and I dropped down to my knees once I was sure that he was comfortable.

I slowly swirled my tongue on the head of his dick and his hands weaved into my hair. He eased me down until I was able to take most of the length. Once I was sure I wasn't going to gag, I started bobbing my head and alternated with that and swirling my tongue.

After just a couple minutes he stopped me and I quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

"Babe, if you keep doing that I won't get the opportunity to fuck you."

I blushed slightly and grinned. He stood back up and helped me do the same. I unbuttoned his shirt and he unzipped the back of my dress and allowed it to fall to the floor.

I shivered as the cool breeze blew across my mostly exposed skin and his eyes darkened with lust.

"I was originally planning on making sweet slow love to you. But I'm starting to think I want to fuck you hard and fast."

His hands were back on my hips as he attacked my mouth with his hungrily. I moaned into his mouth and that was all it took to push him over the edge. He unclasped my bra and pushed my panties to the ground before throwing me onto the bed and he wasted no time in climbing on top of me.

He spread my legs and laid a couple of light kisses on the inside of my thighs. I shuddered and gripped his hair, guiding him to my overheated center.

He grinned and obliged, licking me slowly. I groaned and pushed him closer. He continued the slow torture before focusing on my clit and putting in a finger.

I attempted to move with him but he used his other hand to hold me in place.

"If you move, I'll stop."

I whimpered but removed my hands from his hair in favor of gripping the sheets. He began his assault again and I was panting quickly. Just as I was about to get the wonderful release he moved away. I glared at him, causing him to chuckle.

"As much as I'd love for you to finish, I'd rather do it with me inside of you."

Before I knew it he had entered me in one swift motion. I began moaning again as he thrusted into me faster and faster. I wrapped my legs around his back and he grunted.

"God, you're so tight. Even more when you do that."

I grinned and threw my head back as he started rubbing my clit.

"That's it, honey. I want you finish for me."

That was all it took for me to be thrown over the edge. He thrusted a few more times before he got to his release and laid on top of me.

We took a few moments to catch our breath and I kissed him lazily.

"This has been quite a honeymoon. As much as I miss our friends and family, I'd love to stay another week," I said.

He nuzzled my neck before getting up and making his way to the bathroom.

"You better hurry up, Mason, because I have to pee."

He stuck his tongue out at me before closing the door. I waited a couple minutes before getting up and making my way to the bathroom to knock until he finished whatever he was doing. But before I could make my way over I noticed the wetness between my legs.

"Uh, Edward? Did you use a condom?"

He peeked his head out of the bathroom and his look of confusion turned horror confirmed my fears.

"Shit, no. But you're on birth control, right? So it shouldn't be a big deal."

"Edward, you forgot to pack my birth control, remember? We've been using condoms this whole time."

He looked like a teenager who just had sex with his girlfriend for the first time then realized that the rubber had broken.

"Shit fuck shit! We don't need a kid right now. I mean, it wouldn't be the worst thing but we literally just got married and-."

I let him continue to ramble while I went to the bathroom and cleaned myself up. I gave him a couple extra minutes to calm down before stepping out in my robe.

"It's not the end of the world, Edward. We can go out and buy Plan B if we need to."

He looked relieved at my comment but I knew that buying the pill was the last thing I wanted to do.


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 **Thank you guys for the overwhelming support. It's been quite a difficult several months but things have calmed down enough for me to finish this story. We've still got several chapters to go, though.**

 **We've got a surprise visitor this chapter and next chapter we'll get a view into everything that's been happening with Jasper. Enjoy!**

"Bella!" Rosalie screeched.

I dropped my bags and accepted my best friend's hug. I heard Edward chuckling next to me, attempting to cover it with a cough. Rose jabbed him in the ribs and he winked at her.

"How's my best friend and her little nugget?" I asked.

She beamed in a way I've never seen her do before. She rested a hand on her stomach tenderly.

"We're good, although he's been enjoying making mommy barf at all hours in the day."

"He, huh?"

"Mother's intuition," she said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and hugged her again. In my peripheral I saw a very large man walking towards us and we turned towards Emmett. I nodded in acknowledgment and he waved awkwardly while Edward made his way to meet them.

"I don't know what you said to him, Bella. But whatever you said flipped a switch and I've got my old Emmett that I know and love back. So, thank you," Rose said tearfully.

I brushed her off.

"It's no big deal. I know that guys can be such assholes sometimes and we have to keep them in their place."

She chuckled and nodded her head in agreement. We made plans to get lunch with Alice and catch up on everything while the men went and took care of some business.

"How was Hawaii, Bella?" Alice asked ten minutes later when we got seated at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

"It was breathtaking. The sun was out almost every day and we got to go swimming. I'm thinking about getting a timeshare or something over there. But sex on the beach isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds when you have to get sand out of all the nooks and crannies."

Rosalie spit out the drink of water she had just taken and started laughing so loudly the manager came over and requested that we be quiet and not disturb the other guests. I stuck my tongue out at him as he walked away.

"You sure have changed in the past few months, Bella. Before you would have had a gun to that guy's head and a knife to his throat for even looking at you wrong," Alice stated quietly.

"Yeah, I have changed. But our enemies don't need to know how much of a softie I've become. Now, enough about me. Why don't you two catch me up on everything that's happened since I left?"

The two exchanged a nervous glance and I sighed. As much as I had hoped that I wouldn't have much besides to Aro to worry about when I got back, but the odds were apparently not in my favor.

"You've had a certain…guest that's been wanting to see you ever since he heard about the wedding that he wasn't invited to," Rose explained slowly.

"I could think of a few possibilities. But as long as he's harmless I'm not going to worry about that right now. What's been going on with Aro?"

The waiter delivered our food so we paused talking about work and made it sound as if we were normal people. Well, as normal as we could be with guns and sharp objects hidden in various locations on our person.

Alice took a big bite of her taco before answering.

"That's the strange thing. Ever since the wedding he hasn't bothered showing up unannounced like he usually does. We haven't even had a trace of him being around Seattle. Our theory is that he went out of the country to conduct some business."

"I don't like the sounds of that. There's a lot of trouble one could get into overseas," I responded before taking a few bites of my burrito.

We finished our meals without talking too much more about work. Alice was still overjoyed from when I had given her Jasper's message. I was hoping that we would be able to end everything soon so I could bring my friend back home.

We made our way out to the car and I was about to open my door when I saw a figure walking up to us in the rain. I squinted and groaned once I realized who it was.

"The last time I saw this prick did I make a promise to kill him? Because if I did I'd love to make good on that promise. Although I don't need an excuse to kill the fucker."

Alice snorted and tried to cover it up with a cough.

"Can I please get at least one swing in before you kill him? Pretty please?" Rosalie begged.

"Fine. I won't stop you if you really want to."

Rosalie squealing and we waited for him to get closer to us. Once he was within a couple feet, Rosalie walked up to him with a big grin on her face. As soon as he opened his mouth to say something, she punched him square in the jaw. He took a few steps back and I saw the fire in his eyes.

"You wouldn't hit a poor innocent pregnant woman, would you, Charlie?" she asked whilst batting her eyelashes.

"I don't give two flying fucks if you're pregnant or not. You hit me first and I have every right to hit you back," he stated darkly.

He pulled his hand back, ready to fight when I cocked my gun and kept it pointed at his head.

"Charlie, you should know better than to hit a lady. Now, you have a very limited amount of time to tell me what you want before I pop a cap in your sorry ass."

His eyes flicked to mine and I saw a tinge of sorrow before the fire returned.

"I heard that you got married. I had to wish my daughter congratulations on her nuptials."

I rolled my eyes and kept the gun steady.

"I appreciate that from my piece of shit father. Now tell me why you're really here."

He sighed and motioned for me to lower gun, which I refused.

"You need help fighting this guy, Bella. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. I've fought against him before and I think I can help."

"That's wonderful to hear, Charlie. Next time we're planning our next move I'll be sure to call you. Now, I'd appreciate if you would leave us alone and go back to whatever the fuck you do with your miserable life."

The fire had burned down when I began talking. Instead, the sorrow came back and didn't leave.

"You really have no idea what you're doing, Bella. I know we've had our differences but this _is_ something you need help with. You can't do something like this on your own."

"Which is why I have my crew. Get out of here, Charlie. We've got more important things to take care of."

He shook his head and walked back the way he had come. I sighed and put my gun back in our holster and we all made our way to the office without any further issues.

"Honey!" Rosalie squealed before getting out of the car and running towards Emmett.

I was about to do the same when Edward came into view but one look at Alice's expression stopped me. With everything going on, it was easy to forget how hard it's been on Alice with Jasper being gone. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.

"I promise that I'm going to get him out of there as soon as I can. That's why I have everyone meeting here so quickly. I had received a text from him at the restaurant."

Her face lit up and I held her hand as we made our way into the building. It was nice to see everyone's smiling faces and Leah's growing belly.

"How much longer, Leah?" I asked before sitting down.

"A month or so. It just depends on how much longer little Billy wants to stay in there."

"Billy, as in Jacob's father?" I questioned.

She nodded and rubbed her belly lovingly. I winked at Jacob, causing him to blush.

"Alright, guys! Sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. As you all know by now, Jasper's been undercover with Aro for the past few months. I received word today that he's got all of the information we need to take the bastard down. So, let's get to planning."


	21. Chapter 19 Part 1

Chapter 19

 **Hey, guys. This chapter is told entirely in Jasper's POV of everything that's happened while he's been with the Volturi. This is part one of two. Enjoy!**

"Ah, you must be the new guy that everyone has been talking about. I am Aro, it is a pleasure to meet you," the pale man said with a gleam in his eye.

Jasper shook his hand and kept his expression stoic. He had decided to play hard to get in order to keep Aro's attention. He had heard that the man would try to keep him around longer if he liked the individual but they were not interested.

"I have heard that you have certain…abilities?" Aro asked.

"Yes, sir. I was the best shot of my team, sir," Jasper replied easily.

"Ah, I quite enjoy having the best of the best with me. Would you mind showing your skills, young Jasper?"

Jasper shrugged and looked around the room with a bored expression. He could sense Aro becoming annoyed but also intrigued.

"Felix, fetch Dimitri, would you? I would like for him to show our guest the shooting range."

Felix left without another word. Jasper quirked an eyebrow at the older man.

"Guest? I thought I was a member."

Aro squealed in delight and clapped.

"Ah, that is where you have been misinformed, my dear boy. You must prove to me that you are worth keeping around. If you can shoot better than Dimitri, then you shall stay. Otherwise I will have to kill you."

That surprised Jasper, but he didn't allow any other expression than neutral to show. He knew he had the skills to beat the lad but he feared what would happen when the other man lost.

Aro continuously attempted to make small talk but Jasper brushed off his attempts, much to Aro's dismay. He enjoyed getting to know every little detail about the men working for him.

"You requested my presence?" Dimitri asked.

Jasper looked the man up and down and could tell he had experience on and off the field. He had the eyes of a killer and he was constantly checking his surroundings. The only bad part about his sheer size was the fact that Jasper knew exactly how to take down a man that big.

"Hello, Dimitri. I would like for you to take Jasper out to the shooting range. He has to prove he can earn his keep."

Dimitri nodded and grabbed Jasper by the shoulder, shoving him out into the hallway.

"I'll tell you which way to go. I prefer to not have people walking behind me."

"And what makes you think it wouldn't bother me?"

Dimitri snorted and cracked his knuckles, attempting to make himself seem tough.

"I think you are a guest that I could easily get rid if I so desired. So, keep walking."

"I don't think you realize that I am the boss of myself, not you. I won't have an incompetent fool such as yourself telling me what to do," Jasper replied coolly.

"Why I ought to-."

"Dimitri! Jasper! I did not know you could be so feisty, little one. Quit your bickering and get to the shooting range, you are boring me with these shenanigans," Aro interrupted.

The two men glared at each other but did as they were told.

"'Boss of yourself' my ass. As soon as Aro told you what to do you bent over and let him put it in your ass," Dimitri whispered.

Jasper had to fight to keep his expression neutral, but he did allow a small smirk to show.

"I must not have made myself clear enough, Dimitri. I will listen to a boss who actually knows what they're doing instead of acting like a complete buffoon."

"Hey!"

Before Dimitri could throw the first punch, Felix put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"You heard Aro say to not fight like this. Now shut the fuck up and get out there before I shoot the both of you idiots."

They did as they were told and made their ways out to the range. Aro look a seat in a chair that looked like an ornate throne, which was a bit much for Jasper.

"Ren, dear, could you set up the targets for these gentlemen?" Aro asked.

The blonde woman nodded and did as requested. Jasper knew he recognized the woman, but had no idea from where. It took her only a few minutes to get everything set up that they would need.

"Good, dear. You may return and continue that massage you were giving me. Now, boys, the first one to accurately shoot the targets and empty your chambers is the winner. Begin!"

Jasper glanced at the targets before turning to Dimitri. The man was carefully aiming and had his finger on the trigger. Before he had even shot the first bullet, Jasper had shot two in the center of the target. Enraged, Dimitri turned his gun on the other man but before he could pull the trigger Jasper had shot his remaining bullet in the man's knee.

Aro squealed and began clapping again, much to Jasper's annoyance.

"My, I was not expecting a show as good as this! I must say that I am impressed in your tactics, Jasper. Seeing as how I did not specify which target you must hit, and with Dimitri becoming your target, I must declare you the winner!"

Jasper simply shrugged and put his gun back down, keeping a close eye on his defeated opponent.

"You piece of shit! You don't realize what you've just done!" Dimitri screamed, gripping his knee in pain. Jasper had a feeling that his worst fear was about to come true.

"Take care of the parasite," Aro said to Felix.

Felix made his way over to Dimitri, the man begging for his life the whole time.

"Please, Felix. We've known each other since we were kids! How could you let a maniac like him tell you to kill your best friend?!"

He kept babbling and pleading until Felix got close to him, put his hands on the man's face, and turned his head sharply. Jasper gasped quiet enough that no one else heard it. A rock settled in his stomach but he refused to show that it bothered him.

"Well, now that is over, we should Jasper a grand tour of the place and show him his new room. Ren would be happy to do so while Felix takes care of the body, yes?" Aro asked. Although, Jasper knew it wasn't a request.

Ren nods and walks over to Jasper, linking their arms together and walking to the large house. They walked in silence until they made their way to kitchen and she slowly showed him the rest of the house, while adding some history about the gang.

"Here is your room. It's pretty close to Caius and Marcus; they'll help you with your work I would assume. If you ever need me for anything, you just push the button next to your bed and I'll answer as soon as possible. Throughout the house is an intercom system just in case you need anything. Do you have any questions?" Ren asked after her explanation.

"Just one. What is Ren short for?" Jasper questioned.

"Renee. Anything else?"

He shook his head and she walked out without another word.

* * *

The next morning, Aro requested that Jasper meet him in his office. The man took a quick shower before getting dressed and making his way over.

"Ah, how kind of you to finally join us, Jasper. Has Ren been helpful?"

Jasper nodded and took a seat off to the side and he fiddled with an imaginary string on his shirt.

"I would like to catch Jasper up on a few things. One thing, for example, is our biggest enemy. The Swan gang. Their leader, Bella, has been a great pain to me for a while. I won't bore you with the details, Ren can do that for me later. However, with you being new and everything, I need you to prove that you're in this for the long haul," Aro explained with the creepy smile not leaving once.

"And what is it that you need me to do?" Jasper asked.

"Why, I'm pleased that you asked! You see, I have been wanting to make a bold statement with her crew for a while now, especially since they combined forces with this Masen guy. I believe that is where Tanya came from. Anyway, I will leave it up to you what you want to do to cause mayhem. You will have to sign a contract, of course. That is how I work."

"I understand. What kind of settlement are we talking about here?"

Aro snapped his fingers and Felix appeared with a small piece of paper and pen ready. Aro scribbled down a few numbers before handing the paper to his newest member.

Jasper whistled at the amount of zeros at the end of the first number and grinned mischievously.

"I like your style. If you have the contract ready, I'll sign. Then leave the rest to me."

Aro clapped and snapped at Felix again, who produced the contract and an extra pen. The two men signed and Jasper wasted no time in rushing out. Once he was sure that he wasn't around anyone, or that there were no bugs, he called Bella.

"Jasper! How's it going? Is everything okay?" she asked rapidly.

"It's fine and I'm fine. Listen, Aro needs me to prove how worthy I am. It has to cause you guys hell and it has to be legitimate since I signed a contract. Ideas?"

She was quiet for a minute.

"I hate it but it's a really good idea. I was planning on trying to move in with Edward soon but…this is a pretty good incentive. You could burn the house down during a shift change."

"What? No! That's insane I don't want to kill anyone," Jasper replied in a panic. Bella chuckled.

"Jazz, calm down. You have to do what you have to do to help all of us. If this is what it takes, then it's what it takes. I'll text you times. Keep an eye over your shoulder at all times."

They said their goodbyes before Jasper hung up the phone and made his way back to his room. He spent a few hours planning, making sure that no one would get hurt, before deciding his plan was flawless and going to bed.

The next morning he told Aro to stand by for a phone call. He just grinned and agreed, excited to see what Jasper would do. Within a matter of hours the house was in flames and everything destroyed. Since Jasper had spoken to Bella beforehand, she was able to get the most important documents back to the warehouse.

It was the last thing that Aro needed to see to know that Jasper was on his side. He started including him on more important matters and Jasper was getting more intel than he ever expected.

However, even with everything going so well for him, he had a couple of suspicions that he hadn't had the opportunity to pursue. One thing that was bugging him was the fact that he knew Ren/Renee was Bella's mother. He had seen enough pictures of the woman to know what she looked like. The only difference was that she had aged and she now had blonde hair. He was afraid of blowing his cover to investigate it further and he needed to find a way to tell Bella that her mother was alive.

Another thing that had been bothering him was when he was looking at some other documents, his parents name had come up a couple of times. He had a feeling that this group at been the reason for their murders, but now he had the proof. He just wasn't sure how to handle that one without blowing his cover.

He knew that he had a lot of information on the group but he wasn't quite ready to finish the operation. At least, not until he had all of his ducks in a row. Luckily for him, Aro was thrilled that he was taking the time to "learn the history" of the group. Unfortunately for him, it would lead to his downfall.

Jasper was putting more puzzles together when someone came up behind him and tapped his shoulder.

"Master would like to see you in his office," Felix said without explanation.

Jasper was surprised that Felix would leave Aro's side but he followed the large man to the ostentatious office that Aro adored.

"Ah, Jasper! It is so pleasant to see you, my dear boy. Please, take a seat. As you know, I have been keeping a close eye on Swan and her group. But I am stuck at a dead end of how to proceed. I could take them out, or I could try to get them on my side and then destroy them. I shall decide eventually. Anyway, if there is any information you know I would greatly appreciate it."

Jasper thought for a moment. There had been an idea that he had been playing with for a while. He had even gone as far as forging the paperwork just in case.

"If you're leaning towards attempting to get them to work with you, I've got some information I did not discover until recently. I found out that I'm going to be a dad and the mother is Leah Clearwater."

Aro's smile froze, if that was possible.

"I am so glad that you joined us, Jasper. As long as you are willing to sign the child over to me, I will make you my right-hand man. However, if you are tricking me in any way, there will be consequences. Understood?"

Jasper nodded and signed another contract, sealing his fate.


	22. Chapter 19 Part 2

Chapter 19

Part 2

 **Hey, guys! I'm wrapping up Jasper's POV in this chapter and going back to Bella. I know it's a shorter chapter than normal but it's more of a filler before the final fight next chapter. It's sad to say that there's only going to be two more chapters including the epilogue. But I'll save my sadness for the end. Until then, please enjoy! Oh, and if you didn't already know I have already started my next fic called Southern Belle. Take a peek and see if you like it. Thanks!**

The three of them went over the plan again. Felix was going to contact Charlie and tell him that they'd exchange Bella's mother for her signing a contract giving everything she possessed to Aro. He explained to Jasper that he did have Bella's mother; he had kidnapped her several years before because he was still in love with her.

However, he wasn't willing to give Renee up. So, they'd bring in an actress that looked like Renee and hope that it would be enough to fool Bella.

They met in the conference room at one of the many hotels that Aro owned. Jasper was sweating nervously, waiting for Bella to arrive. He had written a note beforehand and tucked it away in his sleeve for her to give to Alice.

When she arrived, Jasper was afraid that she'd do something stupid…which she did. She had never been able to watch that mouth of hers even in situations where it could mean life or death. He was grateful that Aro had a sick sense of humor and a God complex.

What he wasn't banking on was that Bella could get the results of a paternity test so quickly. He knew there would be hell to pay when he was alone with Aro later. Yet, he couldn't not be proud of how efficiently his real boss worked. She would do what she had to to protect her own.

After they left the hotel and got back to the mansion, Aro asked Jasper to follow him to his office. Felix stood outside the closed door and kept watch.

"Jasper, do you remember what I said about if you were lying to me? And here I find out that you betrayed me? What do you have to say for yourself?" Aro questioned.

Jasper gulped but tried his hardest to maintain composure.

"I honestly didn't expect her to get the results so quickly. I was hoping that we'd have more time to try and get what we wanted from her…cause enough mayhem and the conflict will arise by itself," Jasper explained slowly. He was making it up as he went along and he hoped the pathetic excuse was good enough to fool the boss.

Aro sat in his seat with his fingers intertwined and his chin resting upon him. He stared at Jasper long and hard before breaking the silence.

"You know I cannot simply let you off the hook for this. You signed a contract stating you were the father. Had you ever even been with the woman?"

Jasper shook his head but refused to break eye contact.

"Fair enough. Next time you want to try to pull one on the enemy, tell me beforehand so we can think of a more solid plan together. Now, let me see your hand."

Jasper did as he was told and he couldn't stop screaming as his pinky from his right hand was cut off. Aro grinned with delight as he watched the blood spill all over his desk.

"That is me letting you off with a warning. If you ever attempt something so foolish again, you will not be so lucky. Now, go see the doctor before you bleed all over my white carpet. I really do not wish to buy a new one," Aro dismissed him with the wave of a hand.

Jasper cringed and walked very slowly to the doctor in the basement. He stopped breathing when he saw it was none other than Jessica Stanley.

"How? I thought you were working for Mrs. Masen," Jessica stuttered.

"I could say the same about you, Miss Stanley. What are you doing here?" he seethed and she gulped.

"I don't exchange information between anyone if that's what your insinuating. What happens behind that door stays behind that door and I give the same respect to all of my patients."

"Respect? That's what you call this? I think it'd be beneficial for your patients to know that you're a double agent!"

She slammed her hand on the table.

"I'm not a double agent! If anyone's the double agent here, it's you! Now will you please sit the hell down and shut the fuck up so I can attempt to fix what's left of your finger?"

They glared at each other for a few more seconds before he acquiesced. She worked on his finger silently and he felt slightly bad for how he had spoken to her earlier.

"Jessica, I'm sorry about earlier. You surprised me and I don't typically get surprised that easily. I hope you won't mention this to anyone," he finally apologized.

She huffed and cleaned up his hand after finishing the stitches.

"Do I need to repeat what I said earlier? This is all confidential and will remain between us."

He thanked her and started walking towards the door.

"Oh, before I forget, can you give this note to Emmett the next time you're over there? They'll want to know that I'm okay."

She smiled and agreed, waving as he made his way back out. Once he got back to his room he grinned, he was able to steal some important papers from Aro's file while Jessica was looking the other way. He finally had enough information to take the bastard down.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Bella? I mean, you know I trust Jasper and everything. But he's been undercover for a while, do you think he's ready?" Rosalie asked.

I sighed and took a sip of scotch. My drinking had slowed down significantly but I definitely needed a drink knowing what tonight would bring.

"He found out exactly what happened to your parents, Rose. I don't want to give you the information, that's for Jasper to tell. He knows that it's time to take this piece of shit down and get him out of our lives for good."

She gasped when I mentioned her parents. It had been too long since they were able to find out any additional information on what happened the night their parents were murdered. From what little information Jasper had given me, it sounded like Aro had done it for sport instead of revenge.

"I have a very short window of opportunity tonight and I'm not sure if I'm going to take it. That's why I wanted to talk to you," I murmured.

She snapped out of wherever her thoughts had taken her and I had her full attention again.

"Jasper told me that my mother is alive and well, working for Aro. There is a small window tonight where I can go in there and get her out before things get too bad. I don't know if I should after all these years…it may be impossible to get her back on our side," I told her sadly.

She rubbed her ever-expanding belly and a small smile graced her face.

"That's not something I can tell you to do one way or another. It's been what, at least four years since she went missing? I don't know if she fought to make her way back to you or not, Bella. The only one who truly knows is her. Now, we need to get to headquarters and start planning our next move. We attack tonight."


	23. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 **It's hard to believe that this is last chapter before the epilogue. I hope you guys enjoy it and thank you for making it this far and putting up with me dealing with my personal issues. I will post the epilogue as soon as possible. Thank you for everything.**

"Are you absolutely sure that you don't want to just hand all of the information over to the police, Bella? It'd be the much safer option," Edward pleaded.

I sighed and put down my pen.

"Edward, we've gone over this a million times. We cannot have the police snooping around here for any reason. Our best bet is to just kill the fucker and get on with our lives. I know you're worried honey, but you never used to be like this," I replied slowly.

He shook his head and had the most pitiful look in his eyes.

"Bella, what if I lose you? I can't imagine my life without you and-."

I got up and straddled his lap, kissing him deeply and passionately.

"Don't play the what if game, Edward. I need you to keep your head in game, okay? Focus on what we're going to do tonight. When we kick some serious ass we can lay low for a while and maybe even start a family," I suggested.

He grinned and looked more hopeful than just a few minutes ago. I took his hand and we made our way downstairs where Jacob had the Kevlar vests and guns ready.

"Wait, we're missing a gun. Where's my Ruger?" I asked.

Jacob held up a finger and looked around before pulling it out of the waistband of his pants and winking.

"I knew that's the gun you'd want to use to put the final bullet between his eyes," he stated smartly.

I stuck my tongue out at him and we all got in the car and made our way to the warehouse. Everyone was there, waiting for us. Once it settled down I took my place in the front of the room.

"Alright guys, we've got a lot of shit that's about to go down. We have gone over this plan several times and you should each know what you're doing. Alice and Rosalie are our snipers. Emmett will guard the back door. Edward and I will be scouring the place, looking for Aro while Jasper tries to keep him occupied until we can get there. Everyone else cause all the mayhem that you possibly can. Any questions?"

No one answered so I took a deep breath, "let's go get these bastards."

Everyone made their way to their respective vans. It was a short drive to Aro's mansion thanks to the information Jasper gave us.

"How are we looking, surveillance team?" I asked through my microphone.

"We've got the brothers, Caius and Marcus on the second floor in Caius's room. We believe that Aro is in his office with Felix and Jasper. Ren is in her bedroom. Everyone else is milling about, doing their things. I gotta say, it's pretty fucking awesome that we could hack into his surveillance system," Seth replied.

I rolled my eyes and took all of the information into account.

"Emmett, make your way to the back door. Keep an eye out for anyone and everyone. Kill first and ask questions later except for Renee and Jasper. Go do your thing, big guy," I said.

I saw him scurry to his spot without issue. We all dispersed and killed silently until the alarm was raised that they had intruders.

"We have to split up, Edward. There's no way we can take out all of these guys by sticking together," I murmured.

We were hiding behind one of the giant statues in the foyer. He sighed and leaned in close, giving me the most passionate kiss.

"I love you, Mrs. Masen. Make sure you watch your six and don't get killed," he stated before running out and down the stairs to the basement.

I took a deep breath and put a hand on my stomach, praying that my baby would be safe. I didn't have the strength to tell Edward that I found out I was pregnant just a couple of days beforehand. It would distract him too much if he knew.

I cocked my gun and slowly went out when all of the men and women were down. I made my way to the second floor and outside Aro's office. I flinched when I heard a gunshot that was way too close for comfort.

Instead of waiting for the all-clear from Jasper I busted inside with my gun raised. I took a deep breath and glared at Felix, who was by himself.

"I know you are here for Aro and I am afraid you won't have the luxury. So, please call off your men now before someone else gets hurt."

My blood ran cold but I couldn't let my fear show.

"I know you're disappointed by how many of your pathetic men we killed already. They really weren't trained all that well with how easily we picked them off," I replied.

The few times I had interacted with Felix he always had the same menacing look. He held himself tall and let his presence be known until Aro started talking. Aro was somehow able to easily direct the attention to himself and allow Felix to fall into the background. I was pretty sure Aro couldn't take a shit without Felix being in the same stall.

"You may have downed many of our people but know that yours have been injured as well. At least one death from what I have heard," he said in his slow deep voice.

"Oh? I'm sure it was someone easily replaced."

"I am glad you think so. Some kid named Seth I believe."

I had to blink back the tears and wanted to slap myself for even starting to fall into this trap.

"You're the bad guy here, Felix. I shouldn't and don't believe a word you say you piece of shit," I spat.

Before he could reply I fired off one round which grazed his shoulder. He didn't flinch and I watched in horror as he walked closer; my aim was off and I was only able to hit him a couple of times in his arm.

"How, how are you still walking? I know they weren't good shots but they should still hurt like hell," I floundered in disbelief.

His hand wrapped around my neck and he lifted me into the air.

"We have been waiting for you to join us for a while now, Isabella. We tried the easy way to get you on our side. You have made us do things the hard way. Well, it will not be hard for us. I look forward to torturing you slowly."

I clawed at his hand, desperate for air. I was starting to get dizzy and the edges were getting fuzzy. My gun had been knocked out of my hand and I couldn't reach the one in the waistband of my pants. I started praying that Edward would forgive me with a tear rolling down my cheek.

Just before I lost consciousness, his meaty paw had released from my neck. I fell to the ground gasping for breath, rubbing the sore spots.

Once I was able to breathe normally I looked up and was surprised to find Aro holding the gun that killed Felix.

"What the fuck?"

He laughed manically and waved the gun.

"Ah, Isabella! I was hoping I would have the honor of seeing you once I found out that you have staged a…mutiny on my mansion. I must that I do not approve but you knew that, right?" he asked.

I didn't bother replying, instead watching him walk around his office slowly.

"I know that Jasper has been helping you but the only reason I am telling you is to let you know that I took care of the problem. He will not be an interference anymore."

"No! You couldn't have killed him!" I yelled.

He laughed and clapped again, putting the gun on a table close to his desk.

"You just saw me kill my right-hand man in cold blood, no? I will not hesitate to kill anyone and still be able to sleep like a baby that evening. This plan that you tried to pull today? The outcomes will not bother me. I can build myself back up easily."

While he continued to brag I slowly reached for the gun in the waistband of my pants. Once I was sure he was distracted, I aimed with my finger on the trigger.

"I would not advise you to do that, Isabella. You see, I have your husband held captive. It was not very smart of him to go into that basement by himself. Your mother is the one holding the gun to his head, actually. She has instructions to shoot if I am killed. I hope you understand?"

For the second time in only a few minutes, my blood ran cold.

"You don't have any proof that you have him," I retorted.

"Oh, the glory of this is the fact you can't know for sure-,"

I fired the gun, the bullet going between his eyes. The satisfaction of watching his blood spurt out and hit the wall behind him was like nothing else.

Edward came running in with a panicked look on his face.

"Are you okay?!" he almost screeched.

I chuckled and hugged him close.

"We don't have much time for a reunion, hon. We need to make sure that Jasper and Seth aren't dead."

His eyes got wide and he ran into the secret entrance that Aro had walked out of to get to me. He gave me a thumbs up before he walked in.

"Guys? Report in," I said into the microphone.

Everyone except two voices responded, and those two were the loudest.

"Emmett? Seth? Find me my men, dammit!"


	24. Epilogue

Epilogue

 **Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this story and an additional thank you to the people who have been here since the beginning. It's always sad to finish a story but I'm excited for what the next story shall bring. Please check out my new story Southern Belle.**

 _Two Years Later_

"I can't believe it's really been two years since he's been gone," Leah said sadly with tears brimming in her eyes.

Jacob wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing the side of her head. Their daughter, Sarah, looked up at her mom and touched her cheek.

"Don't cry, mama. Unca Set don't want you sad," she said before wrapping her little arms around her mom for a hug.

Leah chuckled and pulled her close.

We weren't able to revive Seth when his body had finally been found. He had been shot in the stomach and had bled to death. The only good part was the fact that he was the only death from our crew, but it still hurt me to this day that such a young kid gave his life for us.

Emmett had been knocked out by the back door but he regained consciousness after a few minutes. He remembered someone sneaking up behind him and he had shot at them but they hit him on the head with the butt of their gun on the way down.

We made it a ritual to come to the cemetery every year on the anniversary of us finally beating Aro's gang.

"C'mon guys. Let's leave Leah and the family to mourn. We'll have food ready when you guys decide to come over," I said.

She nodded and we left them alone. We made our way back and I squeezed Edward's hand. He looked over and grinned at me, moving his hand to my stomach.

"I can't wait to meet our little prince," he said happily.

"You can't wait? Before long I'll be waddling everywhere," I replied snarkily.

He chuckled and we pulled into the driveway.

"Mama! Dada!"

Our daughter came running up to us and right into Edward's arms. I couldn't stop smiling when I saw the two of them together.

"Mia, don't run like that! You scare me!" Renee yelled from the door.

Things had sure been rough when she came back into our lives. It took a lot of adjusting for her to know that Aro wasn't out there looking for her. She had apparently tried to runaway several times after her kidnapping but he was always able to find her. By now she had adjusted rather well and fit into our family easily.

Charlie was another story. He caused another fight between the two of us when he had seen Renee for the first tie, telling me what a horrible daughter I am since I didn't believe him in the first place. When Renee had heard about everything he had done to me since she first disappeared, she didn't want anything to do with him. Not that I could blame her.

He passed away six months ago. He had gotten involved in a drug deal that went wrong. I attended the funeral but didn't stay long. I had loved my father once upon a time, but he was a permanently changed man when he had lost my mother. I couldn't forgive the things he had done to me in his grief.

"Mama," Mia said while tugging on my skirt.

I looked down and grinned, picking up my princess and snuggling her.

"Yes, Mia?"

"Can I go play with Ethan and Lilly?" she asked while batting her eyes.

I chuckled and put her back down on the ground.

"Of course you can, dear. Make sure you behave yourself."

Ethan was Rosalie and Emmett's soon. When he was born he was a spitting image of Emmett, and he finally quit questioning Rose's commitment to him. Even after our little talk he admitted to having doubts.

The first thing Jasper and Alice did once everything was over was get married and have a month-long honeymoon. They definitely deserved it after everything that had happened. Jasper still suffers with PTSD with some of the things he was forced to do while working for Aro, but he had improved quite a bit since things first settled down. Exactly nine months after their wedding night Lilly was born.

"Isabella! I don't give two flying fucks if you're my boss, you will get your pregnant ass in here!" Rosalie yelled from the doorway.

I rolled my eyes but did as she commanded.

"God, Rose. You look like you're about to pop but you still have two months with those little monsters, right?"

She glared at me and stuck her tongue out.

"You try being pregnant with twins. It isn't the easiest thing in the world."

We finished cooking the spaghetti and set the table.

Business had changed drastically once Edward found out I was pregnant with Mia. Everything still had to be run through us but we had allowed Emmett and Jacob to take over most of the tasks. I stayed out of most of the action and Edward forbade me for partaking in anything when we found out I was pregnant with this little guy. We were still trying to choose between naming him Oliver or Peter.

Not much time later Jacob and his family returned from the cemetery. I nodded at them knowingly and everyone took their places at the table. There was chatter going on constantly and I turned to say something to Edward when I felt something wet hit my cheek.

"What the fuck? This better not be the fucking soup, Emmett McCarty," I stated menacingly.

He had the decency to look guilty.

"To be fair, I was aiming for your asshole husband," he said apologetically.

"Emmett! Watch your fucking language we have children at the table!" Rosalie scolded.

"Fuck! Fuck is a grownup word, daddy!" Ethan piped up.

The table went dead silent until Jasper started laughing uncontrollably. I took advantage of Emmett being distracted to throw a bread stick at his head. That's when the food fight really began.

"I am not cleaning this shit up," Mrs. Cope tried to yell over the noise but it was to no avail.

I laughed and looked around, attempting to avoid the food flying towards my head. Even after everything that had happened, I knew I was where I was meant to be.


End file.
